


Lucid Hearts

by Alexander_Weird



Series: Reflect [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 12:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3569396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexander_Weird/pseuds/Alexander_Weird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuugi finds himself in a lucid dream where he stumbles into a new classmate, who, rather bluntly admits adoration for the amethyst-eyed boy. Trouble starts when Yuugi is found unconcious in the auditorium with a strange man in a trenchcoat. Slowly, Yuugi begins to peice together a rather fragmented past, and new wounds begin to open, along with a vicious power's awakening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Too Cute to Resist

"Ready for your first day of high school tomorrow?" Yuugi's grandpa said.

"Yep," Yuugi replied, "I'm all set. Just gotta get some rest before then."

"Alright. Goodnight, Yuugi." said his Grandpa.

"Goodnight, grandpa." said Yuugi.

Yuugi's grandpa gave a small smile as he switched off the light and shut the door. Yuugi lay still, warm under the blankets as his breath deepened. It wasn't long before he was overtaken by sleep.

Yuugi suddenly found himself dreaming, lying on a bed of soft grass in the middle of an expansive meadow. There were some trees and woods to the east, a stream to the west, hills and mountains to the north, and to the south a path started down a hill, somewhere Yuugi couldn't see to. The sky was a bright blue, dotted with clouds here and there- some white, some light purple. Strange, though...the sky area to the south seemed a little...magenta?

Yuugi stared around him in awe- this place was unbelievable! This was a dream? It was almost hard for Yuugi to believe that. Everything looked and felt so vivid, as though from real life. But somehow he knew this was in his mind. So that meant that Yuugi was aware he was dreaming _while_ he was dreaming. Amazing! Why hadn't he been aware sooner? He would've liked more of these experiences. Anyway, wasn't there a name for this kind of dream? Yuugi seemed to recall it vaguely-

"A lucid dream, I believe." said a strange voice.

Yuugi jumped and heeled around, then almost jumped again. There was a boy who looked about his age, only he actually _looked_ it. Yuugi was a short boy with large amethyst eyes and violet-tipped star hair, while this boy was tall with sharp ruby eyes and red-tipped star hair.

"Um, lucid dream?" Yuugi quizzed.

"Yeah," said the boy, who had a slightly deeper voice than Yuugi's, which was soft and lighthearted, "it's when you are aware that you're dreaming while said dream takes place."

"Oh," said Yuugi, "So then this is a lucid dream?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay, I think I understand that. But who exactly are you? Are you me somehow?"

"I don't know." said the boy, "To be honest, I was about to ask you myself. What's your name?"

"Yuugi."

"Yuugi, eh? Nope, definitely not me. I'm Yami. Yami Mutou."

Yuugi's mouth gaped open.  
"But _my_ last name's Mutou!"

"Well, I don't suppose it's impossible..." said Yami, " even so, you might just be fake, a part of this dream."

"What? No!" Yuugi protested, "I'm real! I'm an actual person!"

"I know," Yami laughed, "I was just teasing you."

"So then, are you real?" said Yuugi.

"As real as you are," said Yami.

"Wait a second, if that's true, then how could we be having the same dream? That's just too weird."

"We probably fell asleep around the same time or something."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah..." said Yami, trailing off.

A pause.

"Hey Yuugi," Yami finally said, "How old are you?"

"Um, fourteen," said Yuugi.

"Wow, same as me? I'd thought you were younger."

"Ugh, don't remind me..." Yuugi groaned.

"Okay, forget that last part. Anyway, you'd be in high school right about now, wouldn't you?"

"That's right." Yuugi began to wonder where this was going. "Actually, I'm starting tomorrow."

"Really? So am I."

"That's...interesting."

Yuugi waited for Yami to speak again, but nothing happened. Just another strange pause.

"Hey Yami, are you alright?" Yuugi said gently.

"I-I..." Yami stammered.

"What is it?" said Yuugi.

Suddenly, without warning, Yami leaned over and kissed Yuugi on the lips.

"Whoa!"Yuugi exclaimed, "What the heck!?"

"Sorry," said Yami, "you're so cute that I couldn't help it."

Yuugi felt his face heat up and redden.

"Y'know, blushing only makes you even cuter, Yuugi," said Yami.

"S-stop talking like that..."

"Why? It's true."

"No!" Yuugi screamed, and was awake again. A second later his grandfather burst into the room.

"Yuugi, are you okay? I heard screaming."

"Yeah, I'm alright. It was just a dream."

After convincing his grandfather to go back to his bedroom, Yuugi didn't try to go back to sleep. He didn't want to risk having to go back to that dream again, so he just laid in his bed, staring out into space in a sort of trance until the morning light came.

Mere minutes after the first rays of sun hit the window glass, the alarm clock went off, and Yuugi quickly got ready for school. Yuugi brushed his hair and teeth, put on his school uniform, ate breakfast, then grabbed his bag, making sure everything was packed inside. He grabbed his lunch off the counter and set off for school, waving to his grandfather as he left.

It was a quiet thirty-minute walk to the Domino City school building, the time in the morning before most headed off to work. Yuugi tended to like this time the most, since it was the time of day when he felt most centralized. Finally he got to the school building. He went inside and followed the map to his new classroom. He began to walk into the classroom when he halted and flattened himself against the wall outside the doorway. Yuugi nearly screamed.

Inside the classroom was Yami Mutou, sitting at one of the desks. Yuugi swore under his breath.


	2. Amends and Friends

"Shoot." said Yuugi.

"Hey kid, you lost?"

Yuugi turned around to see a boy with blonde hair looking down at him.

"No I'm not lost!" said Yuugi, "I was just, um- checking to see if I forgot anything! Yeah..."

"Well whatever, Hurry or you'll be late. What's your name anyway?"

"Yuugi."

"Just Yuugi?"

"Oh, no. Yuugi Mutou. Who are you?"

"Jounouchi Katsuya, Pleasure. Now come on, class is- _this_ -away."

Yuugi followed Jounouchi into the room. Luckily for him Yami was engrossed in a book of some sort. Jounouchi stared at Yami for about three seconds, then at Yuugi, then Yami again, then Yuugi. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Hey Yuug'," said Jounouchi, "who's that over there?"

Yuugi stiffened, "I-I don't know."

"Really? I just thought, because you guys look really similar-"

"I've never seen him in my life!" Yuugi laughed nervously, "I'm going to sit now. Bye."

"Wait, Yuug'! Hold on a sec!"

At this Yami snapped out of his book-reading daze and looked up. Ruby eyes met amethyst. After initially looking surprised, Yami flashed a smile and a wink in Yuugi's direction. Yuugi responded by bolting to the farthest possible desk from where Yami was sitting. Yuugi though he heard something like a chuckle coming from Yami's desk area. Yuugi distracted himself by making sure all his school materials were arranged in his desk the way he wanted them to be. In most other high schools, students moved from one class to another, but in Domino High all classes were taught in one room with teachers alternating rather than the students. The only exceptions to this were art, music, and gym, which all had a specific room; for example, gym was taught in the gymnasium. The only time students from different grades usually came together was for clubs or study groups. That was the main reason why Yuugi had wanted to come to Domino High, because he'd assumed it would make things easier for him as a student. Now it would be anything but. He'd have to deal with Yami staring at him non-stop during classes, and if that weren't enough, the guy would probably start asking him things like-

"Can I sit here?"

'Oh, great,' Yuugi thought, 'he's already started.'

But to Yuugi's relief it was just a girl. She had short brown hair and bright blue eyes. The seat she was indicating was next to Yuugi's, in the next row.

"Sure." Yuugi said.

"Great." said the girl, sitting down, "My name's Anzu Mazaki. Who are you?"

"I'm Yuugi Mutou." said Yuugi.

"Yuugi...Yuugi...oh! Your grandfather runs that game shop, doesn't he?"

"You mean the Kame Game Shop?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Okay, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Well he likes to talk about you. I mean, sometimes. He must have pride in his family. And I may have seen you a few times at the shop, but I didn't really pay attention."

"Me neither, I don't think I remember seeing you. Sorry."

"That's okay."

"But I might see you more now. My grandpa told me that I would be able to help around the shop this year. My grandfather says I'm going to inherit the family business someday."

"Yeesh. Sounds like a lot of work."

"I don't think so. The game shop can be a lot of fun, actually. So Anzu, what kinds of things do you like to do?"

"Umm...dancing mostly. Nothing special."

"Really? I think dancing is pretty cool."

"Oh, thanks Yuugi. You're really nice, you know that?"

"Oh, I um, you're welcome! I mean thanks! I mean-"

"It's okay, Yuugi!" Anzu laughed. "Oh, the teacher's here."

"Good morning, students," said the teacher, "allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Beld. I see many of you have found seats already, however they won't be your seats since I will be in charge of that."

A couple of students groaned.

"Enough complaining. It's pre-alphabetized, anyway. I will call out your name and tell you where to sit. After every name has been called out, you will all move to your assigned seats."

After a minute, everyone shuffled over to their new seats. Unfortunately for Yuugi, Yami's last name began with M. Fortunately for Yuugi, Anzu's last name began with M; So Anzu ended up sitting to Yuugi's left, and Yami to Yuugi's right. Yuugi honestly didn't know what to make of it all. Only now, Yami got to stare at him up close. Oh joy. In order to ignore Yami's gaze, Yuugi folded his arms on his desk and put his head down while Mr. Beld was doing roll call.

"Hey Yuugi, are you okay?" Anzu asked.

"Peachy." Yuugi's muffled voice came out.

During class, Yuugi kept his eyes glued to the textbook, trying to shut everything out. Trying to shut him out. It didn't work. Before long a small folded up piece of paper was passed to him from Yami. Yuugi didn't care to look at it, so he brushed it off his desk, letting it fall to the floor. Half a minute later, the note found its way back. And repeat. Finally Yuugi got tired of trying and didn't even touch the note. After what seemed an eternity, the bell rang. The next class was gym, and Yuugi wanted to get there as fast as possible. But too little too late- Yami was coming up behind him already. Yuugi grabbed his bag and started to walk away, but a hand dropped onto his shoulder.

"Wait, Yuugi." said Yami.

Yuugi's face reddened a little, "No, just go...go away from me!"

He whacked Yami's hand off his shoulder and hurried out of the room without looking back. His face was still red when he got there.

"Whoa, Yuug'," said Jounouchi, who was already there, "your face is seriously red. You run all the way here or something? You look winded as heck."

"Something like that..." said Yuugi. Well, it was somewhat true, anyway.

"Hey, save that sprint for the gym, tiger! Anyway, did you talk to that guy yet?"

"Which one?" Yuugi crossed his fingers in the hope that Jounouchi wouldn't mention who he thought he was going to.

"Y'know, the one who looks like you."

Shoot. It was worth a try.

"Oh no, not yet. Um, listen-"

"Well you should. Talked to him and he seems pretty cool."

"Why do you even care about that?"

"Because he said he actually wanted to get to know you. So maybe you should try and talk to him. Speak of the devil- hey Yami come over here!"

Yuugi sighed. Looks like he'd have to go through this whether he wanted to or not. He turned around to confront the last person that he wanted to see.

"Hello Jounouchi," Yami said in fake casualness, "what is it?"

Jounouchi smirked, "You told me you wanted to get to know Yuugi here, right? So Yuugi, Yami. Yami, Yuugi. Now get acquainted."

"Um...hi?" Yami said cautiously, as if he weren't sure what to say.

"Hey..." Yuugi said awkwardly, rubbing his neck with his left hand. He avoided eye contact.

Yami sighed, "I hope Jounouchi didn't force you to do this. You...you don't have to if you don't want to."

"I..." Yuugi thought carefully, "I guess I'm okay with it, I just...didn't feel quite ready to talk to you yet."

He and Yami exchanged knowing glances.

"Yeah," Yami replied, "this is awkward, isn't it?"

"You don't say."

The bell then rang, and the teacher stormed into the gym.

"Alright, road kill!" he bellowed, "You all have ten minutes to change, then forty minutes of P.E.! On a normal day I'd only give you five minutes to change, but I'm going easy on you since it's your first High School day. Now, let's go!"

"Alright, guys," said Jounouchi, "I'm gonna go change. You two keep talking, alright? See ya in a few."

Jounouchi gave them a thumbs-up and walked away. Now the real talking began.

"Why've you been ignoring me?" said Yami.

Yuugi folded his arms. "You know perfectly well why!"

Yami chuckled and leaned closer to Yuugi.

"You know, playing hard-to-get makes you even more desirable."

Yuugi's face turned bright pink.

"As does that." Yami smirked.

"Will you quit it?!" Yuugi hissed, "Some people wouldn't be friendly if they heard that! And anyway, I don't even know if I like guys! Seriously, it's going to be hard getting past the hormonal stuff alone!"

"Well obviously," said Yami, "but you can't help it if you like who you like. I am sorry about last night, though. I...get carried away sometimes. Do you think, maybe, that we can start over?"

"Sure," Yuugi smiled, relieved, "but no more surprises, okay?"

"Done." said Yami, "But I've still got to ask, do you like me at all?"

"As a friend."

"Just friends?"

"I told you already, I don't know how I feel about that kind of thing yet."

"Okay, fine. I still like you, though."

Yuugi sweat-dropped, laughing the comment off.

"We'd better hurry," he said to change the subject, "we still have to change, and the teacher will be annoyed if we're late."

"You're right," Yami nodded in agreement," let's go."

The day began to go by faster than it should have. Seems staying up all night has its downsides, as Yuugi fell asleep in the next class, art class, which happened to be Yuugi's favorite subject. Tough luck for him. He was soon found shaken awake by Yami, explaining that it was lunch time.

"Where's Jounouchi?" Yuugi asked as he and Yami walked down the hall on the way to the cafeteria.

"He left with one of his friends," Yami shrugged, "so it looks like it's just us."

"Don't get any ideas."

"Yeah, yeah."

Yuugi put his hands in his pockets, searching for his cell phone. It wasn't there. Oh crap.

_'She'll kill me if I miss her call!'_ Yuugi thought frantically.

It was usually around this time of day that Yuugi's neighbor, Rebecca Hawkins, came over to visit him or called him on the phone; usually his cell phone but often his house phone on the weekends and during the summer. Rebecca had been Yuugi's friend for as long as he could remember, and they were always there for each other, no matter what the situation, big or small. Rebecca was a lot of fun to be around overall, but if she came over or called and Yuugi was available, well...that was about as safe as dropping a boulder onto a mine field.

"Hey, something wrong?" Yami asked.

"Yeah," said Yuugi, "I think I forgot something at the classroom. Lemme go get it- don't wait up! I'll meet you in the lunchroom, okay?"

"Um, okay. See you." said Yami.

Yuugi went back to the classroom, where he found his cell phone in his desk just as his cell began to vibrate. Rebecca was calling.

_'What a close call...'_ Yuugi thought in relief. _'Literally.'_

"Hey, Rebecca." Yuugi picked up.

"Oh, Yuugi," said Rebecca, "hello. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. How are you?"

"The same. I hope you didn't get in any trouble."

"What! R-Rebecca, you know I'm not!"

"Sorry, I just had to ask. Besides, I really miss you. It's not fair! Why do we have to be in different schools? I was really hoping we'd be together. What am I gonna do without you? It'll be so boring here."

"Hey cheer up, Rebecca. I'm sure you'll make some friends while you're there. Besides, we're still neighbors. You can come visit me anytime."

"That's true," Rebecca laughed half-heartedly, "but I really thought this would be the year we figure out about our pasts. I thought we would solve the mystery for good."

A few years prior, Yuugi and Rebecca found that they shared a similar history: at the age of six, their parents passed away mysteriously, and they had both been taken to live with their grandfathers. They couldn't remember their parents very clearly, or what their life had been like before except in brief, vague moments. They made an oath to help each other find out about their parents, and what exactly happened to them on the day that they were taken from them. It was because of this that Rebecca had decided to become a detective, and she was becoming quite skilled at it.

"Don't worry," Yuugi reassured Rebecca, "we will. I know it."

"Yeah, you're right, Yuugi," said Rebecca, "I've got to stop doubting myself. Thanks for believing in me."

"Of course."

"Well, I'd better go so you have time to eat lunch. I'll talk to you later! Ciao, Yuugi!"

"Bye, Rebecca."

Yuugi hung up and headed for the lunch room. The hallway was quiet. So quiet, he didn't hear or see the hulking figure approaching him...


	3. The Fall

It'd been fifteen minutes. Lunch was halfway over. Yami sat by Jounouchi, his friend Honda Hiroto, and a boy called Ryou. Yuugi hadn't come once. Yami was getting a little worried. Did it really take that long to get something from the classroom? No, something was definitely wrong. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm going to look for Yuugi," he said, standing up, "he should've been here by now."

"I'll help you look," said Ryou.

Yami smiled in appreciation, "Thanks."

The two of them left the lunchroom and started to search the school. They looked in several classrooms, the gym, the field, and the pool. They were running out of options, and fast. But then they came to the auditorium. They opened the door and went inside. It seemed completely silent, until they heard a creaking sound coming from the light fixtures over the stage. When they looked up they saw Yuugi being held upside-down by a man in a trench coat as if he were going to drop him. Yami and Ryou both clasped their hand over their mouths to keep from shouting out.

"Holy crap," said Yami.

"What do we do?" Ryou asked in a petrified whisper.

Yami thought carefully for a moment.

"Okay, I-I'll go and try to figure out something here. You go get help."

"Like who?"

"I don't know. A teacher, a senior- anyone! Just hurry!"

Ryou nodded and hurried out. Now Yami had to come up with something, before it was too late to do anything. His mind was completely blank. Well, what the hell? When in doubt, wing it.

Yami ran to the stage behind the curtain and climbed up a ladder to the lighting levels. He slowly crept forward to where that man was at. The man aimed a syringe at Yuugi's head as a creepy smile crawled onto his face. Yami momentarily lost breath as his heart lost a beat.

"YUUGI!" Yami screamed before he could stop himself.

The man froze. He dropped Yuugi. Yami didn't stop to think as he jumped down after him, catching Yuugi by the leg. He stopped the fall by grabbing a hold of one of the stage ropes, which lowered them down safely, since they weighed more in total than the sand bags on the other end. Once they were safely on the ground, Yami looked up. The man was gone. Yuugi on the other hand seemed to be unconscious, and Yami, for now, held back a momentary panic. What did that guy do to him? Thankfully Yuugi was still breathing.

The door swung inward as Ryou arrived with two teachers, Mr. Beld being one of them. The other was a woman who was scheduled to teach their grade level's English class. They ran toward the stage, out of breath.

"What happened here?" asked the woman.

Yami told them what happened, then confessed, "I can't wake him up. I think something's really wrong!"

"It sounds like he needs help," Ryou said sadly.

"I'll take him to the infirmary." said Mr. Beld, "From there we can call his grandfather and inform him of the situation."

"I'll come," said Yami.

"Oh no you don't," said the woman, "I believe I'm your new English teacher, so you two come with me. You can see your friend after class."

Yami and Ryou gloomily agreed and followed this woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Sivvens, back to the classroom. They took their seats and waited.

"Psst, Yami," Anzu whispered, "I heard what happened at lunch. Did you and Ryou find Yuugi?"

Yami just nodded quietly.

"Oh, really?" said Anzu, "Well I don't see him. Where is he?"

"He's...at the infirmary."

"Wait, what? No way! How- what happened to him?"

Yami shook his head, "I don't know." And that was the truth.

"What do you mean?"

"I, well...maybe you should just go see for yourself."

"Yeah. Hey, maybe we should go together. Check on him."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Okay, so how about after school?"

"After?"

"It's just three more classes. It won't be that long."

"Yeah, okay," Yami nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Yuugi woke in a strange white room.

"What happened?" he said, "I thought it was lunch time."

"You're in the infirmary." The school nurse walked over to him.

"In the infirmary? Why?"

"Mr. Beld brought you here. Said your friends found you unconscious in the auditorium."

"I was unconscious!?"

"Yes," the nurse nodded, "so Yuugi, do you happen to remember anything prior to now?"

"We, I remember I was walking with a classmate to the lunch room when I realized I'd forgotten my phone in the classroom, so I told him I'd meet him in the lunchroom. Then I went back to the classroom and got my phone. I remember walking out of the classroom after that, but...I don't know. It's like there's a lapse in my memory there. But I was in the auditorium? How?"

The nurse hesitated.

"Well, your teacher...he told me that your friends said that they hadn't found you alone."

"What?"

"They said that there was a man there, holding you upside down, as if to drop you. He was standing on the stage light catwalk."

"So, someone brought me up there, but he didn't drop me. Otherwise, I'd probably be dead, right?" Yuugi laughed nervously.

"Actually, he did. Your classmate risked his life to save you."

Yuugi's face paled. "He dropped me? I-I could've died! But...who was it that saved me, then?"

"I believe Mr. Beld said his name was Yuni? No wait, Yami. Yes, Yami, that's it. You know, I think you're very lucky to have a friend like that."

"Yeah..." Yuugi said gratefully.

"You should stay here and rest some more." said the nurse, "We called your grandfather, and he's coming to take you home."

_'How embarrassing,'_ thought Yuugi, _'and on my first day of high school. Perfect way to start off the year.'_

"Wait, what about my things?" he asked.

"Already here," The nurse motioned to Yuugi's bag on the floor.

"Is my phone here too? I'm worried that it got stolen or something."

"Check your pockets."

Yuugi slipped his hands into his pockets. No luck.

"It's not there," said Yuugi.

"Well nobody brought a phone with your things, so it might be missing. Don't be too upset, Yuugi. This type of thing often happens."

Yuugi nodded in understanding.

_'At least it was just a phone. I can explain to Rebecca later. But who was this man? Why- what did he want with me? Was he really trying to kill me? Was he going to kidnap me? This all feels familiar, somehow. But how, and from where? It's almost as if-'_

"Yuugi?"

"Hm?"

Yuugi's grandfather had come.

"I heard something had happened," said Yuugi's grandfather, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," Yuugi nodded, "can we just go home?"

"Certainly. Grab your things and we'll be on our way."

"Okay."

Yuugi grabbed his bag and followed his grandfather out of the school.


	4. Friends Visiting A Friend

After school, Anzu and Yami went to the infirmary as planned. When they got there they saw Ryou coming out, shaking his head.

"Hey guys," Ryou waved, "if you're looking to find Yuugi you won't find him in there. The nurse said that he was sent home a few hours ago."

"Well that's just great," said Yami, "how are we going to find him now? It's not like we know where he lives."

"Maybe not," said Anzu, "but I think I know how we can find out. Yuugi's grandfather runs the Kame Game Shop. I bet if we ask him he can tell us where to go. And lucky you! I happen to be a regular customer at the shop."

"Well lead the way," Yami and Ryou said in unision.

They began to walk to the shop. On the way, they encountered Jounouchi and Honda.

"Hey guys," said Jounouchi, "where ya headed?"

"To the Kame Game Shop," said Anzu, "We're trying to figure out where Yuugi lives. We're going to pay hima visit."

"How will going to a game shop help?" said Honda.

"Simple," Anzu continued, "Yuugi's grandfather runs the shop, and since they live together it should be a cinch to find out. You two wanna come?"

"No way," said Honda," I've got better things to do."

"Hey, that was uncalled for," said Yami.

"Yeah man,"said Jounouchi, "I was actually planning on seein' how he's doing. Why don'cha come along?"

"Are you serious?" said Honda, "I'd rather gag myself on pills than see that little pipsqueak. If you'd rather go hang around with that measly little turnip than your best friend, be my guest."

Jounouchi scoffed.

"Anybody who thinks they can talk about other people like that is no friend of mine. Let's split, guys."

At that Jounouchi walked away with the others, leaving Honda staring after them in a shocked state of disbelief.

"No..." Honda gritted his teeth.

_'Jounouchi...you were my best friend...and he just took you away. Yuugi will pay, I swear...I'LL KILL THAT PUNK! Then Jounouchi will come back. He won't have a choice.'_

Honda's gaze turned icy and dark as the wheels began to dangerously tick away in the vast crevices of his strange mind...

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

"You've got some real guts," said Anzu, "standing up to your friend like that."

Jounouchi sighed, "Yeah, well, I know how it feels to have someone tear you down just 'cuz they think they can. It's not cool."

"That's so inspirational," said Ryou.

"It's a gift," Jounouchi said, putting on a goofy grin which made everyone laugh.

"Oh my god," said Yami, gasping for breath, "do that again!"

"What? You mean _THIS?"_ Jounouchi used a face that looked like the troll face. This made everyone laugh so hard that they began to cry and their sides were cramping.

"Stop! Jounouchi!" Ryou cried, "I think I'm going to die!"

"Neehee,"said Jounouchi, "that's what you get!"

After everyone calmed down enough to catch their breath, Ryou said,

"So how far are we from the shop, Anzu?"

"Um...about two blocks," Anzu estimated, "let's hurry. If we don't we might just keep doing this 'till it gets dark and then we won't get to see Yuugi at all."

"Okay, I can agree to that," said Jounouchi, "C'mon guys!"

"That's my line..." Anzu said absently.

After about ten minutes they finally made it to the game shop, which would've only taken five minutes if _somebody_ (cough*Jounouchi*cough) hadn't blown up his cheeks like a balloon. Moving on, the four of them walked into the shop. There were a few people milling around, but Yuugi's grandfather wasn't in sight.

"So what's Yuugi's grandpa look like?" Jounouchi asked.

"Well he looks like Yuugi, just...older," said Anzu.

"Is that him?" said Ryou, pointing over to some shelves. There was a man picking up some cardboard boxes and placing them on the shelves in an organized manner.

"I can't tell from this angle," said Anzu, "he's facing away from us right now."

"I'll find out," said Jounouchi, "hey Mr. Mutou! That you?"

"Not so loud, Jounouchi!" said Anzu, "There are other people here trying to shop!"

"Oops, sorry," Jounouchi grinned.

The man came over. He was stout and wore large turquoise overalls, and had a genuinely kind look about him. Presently though there seemed to be a slight graveness edging through that kindness. Nevertheless, he greeted them with a smile.

"I would be Sugaroku Mutou," he chuckled, "and judging by your outburst, young man, you're just full of energy, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged," Jounouchi said, raising his hands.

"So Anzu," Sugaroku went on, "are these friends of yours? Come to show them the shop?"

"Actually, no," said Anzu, "we all happen to be in the same high school class as Yuugi. We heard about what happened to him, so we wanted to see if he was alright. You're his grandfather, so I thought it'd be smart to ask you where he lives."

This brightened Sugaroku's smile by a mile.

"Well why didn't you say so? The house actually happens to be attached to the back of the shop."

"Really? That's wonderful news," said Ryou.

"Yes," said Sugaroku, "wait just a minute, I'll let Yuugi know you're here. Oh, and fair warning, one of Yuugi's old friends may come over as well. She's a little...eccentric, I suppose. Now wait here."

Yuugi's grandfather went into the house through a door in the back of the shop.

"Hey Yami," said Ryou, "are you alright? You've been awfully quiet this whole time."

"I'm fine," said Yami, "I just don't have anything to say."

"Oh, really?" said Jounouchi, "Then riddle me this: how exactly did the rest of your little chat with Yuugi go? I never found out, and I've been dyin' to ask ya. So lay it on me!"

Yami's face turned red. "Um, y'know...it was fine..."

"Fine? What? No! Forget 'fine'- give me details, man! What's the scoop?"

Anzu and Ryou had just started a conversation of their own, so no hope of help from them.

"Why do you want to know so much?" Yami said defensively.

"I was just asking man, gimme a break!" said Jounouchi.

"Well I think you're too nosy. Stick to your own business!" Yami said as he turned away. He walked over to some shelves, absently looking at some games to distract himself from Jounouchi, and the conversation. He sighed. No, he couldn't forget it.

_'I know what Yuugi told me, that he isn't sure yet, and that he wants us to just be friends right now. But it's hard for me to accept that. I really want us to be closer than that, and- hmm?'_

Yami felt eyes on him, and slightly turned in the direction he felt it coming from. Out of the corner of his eye he saw two girls staring at him, giggling. Yami rolled his eyes and kept browsing through the items.

Meanwhile, Jounouchi was scratching his head.

_'What did I do wrong?' he asked himself, 'I set up his little convo in the first place, so why am I getting all the fire? If anything, he should be glad. This either their talk didn't turn out so great, or there's something that Yami doesn't want me to know. I'm going with the latter, since he did tell me earlier that the talk did go well.'_

Sugaroku came back through the door and cleared his throat.

"Yuugi is upstairs in his room. He says he doesn't want to be disturbed, but for his sake I think he needs to be." Sugaroku winked, "His room is the last door to the left upstairs. I have to get back to work now, but I think you can manage."

The four Domino High students thanked him and entered the house. They saw a flight of stairs extending from the dining room, which was the room they were in. They went upstairs and followed the hallway to the room Yuugi's grandpa had described. The door was open. Yuugi was sitting on his bed, hugging his knees to his chest, looking out the window. He was out of his school uniform and dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and some sweatpants.

"Knock, knock," said Jounouchi, knocking on the open door. Yuugi jerked his head around in surprise.

"What are you guys doing here? You really startled me!"

"Well your grandpa thought you could use some company," said Anzu, "you're not sorry we came to see you, right?"

"I..." Yuugi paused, thinking it over, "no. I just didn't think anyone would want to see me like this."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Yami, "everyone was really worried."

"Well, I...that means a lot. Really. This just made my day, actually." Yuugi said, putting on a smile.

"Ain't that great?" said Jounouchi, "It just goes to show you that a little effort goes a long way."

"Hello," said Ryou, "I don't believe we've met before. My name's Ryou. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," said Yuugi.

"So Yuugi, are you alright?" asked Yami.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Yuugi, "just a little dazed, but I'm sure-"

**"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING MY YUUGI-KUN'S ROOM!?"**

Everyone turned to see a girl around Yuugi's height run into the room, over to the bed, pulling Yuugi into a defensive hug.

"I've got you, Yuugi! You're safe with me!" said the girl.

"Hey, Rebecca. It's oka-" Yuugi started.

"Nobody make a move! What did you do to my Yuugi? Are you assaulting him? Don't make me use this pepper spray!"

Yami couldn't help grinning at the whole scene.

"Hey!" the girl yelled, "something funny, punk? I'll blast your eyes out!"

Yami burst into laughter at this point, and some of the others were well on their way to join him.

"That's it, I'm-"

"Stop, Rebecca!" said Yuugi.

"What?" the girl- apparently Rebecca -said annoyed.

"These are just classmates from school."

"Oh." Rebecca said, embarrassed. "Now I feel kind of bad. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," said Anzu, "Why don't we all start over? I'm Anzu Mazaki."

"I'm Jounouchi, and this here is Ryou the snowy-haired dork."

"I am not a dork!"

Rebecca giggled a little.

"I'm Yami," said Yami.

"It's very nice to meet you all." said Rebecca, "My name's Rebecca, but I guess you already heard."

Rebecca had blonde hair in pigtails, blue eyes, freckles, and wore glasses. She was still in her uniform which was from a different school. It was a white sailor-style jacket worn over a grey turtleneck, a short black skirt, long white socks and black flats.

"Anyway," she continued, "I was best friends with Yuugi before any of you, so if you do anything to hurt him, you're gonna get it bad, you hear?"

"Rebecca stop, this is embarrassing!" said Yuugi.

"Well they need to know their place." said Rebecca, "Especially her." She pointed at Anzu.

"Excuse me?" said Anzu.

A beeping sound came from a wristwatch on Rebecca's wrist. Rebecca sighed.

"Sorry, I have to go. Bye, Yuugi!"

"Goodbye, Rebecca," said Yuugi.

Rebecca left the room and turned down the stairs.

"Huh," said Yami, "she was...interesting, to say the least."

"Sorry about Rebecca," said Yuugi, "she tends to...overreact, is the lighter phrase."

"What's the worse one?" said Jounouchi.

"Let's just say you're all better off not knowing," said Yuugi.

"I think she was nice," Ryou said optimistically.

The five of them spent the next hour talking, which was a very good time in itself, playing games, and sharing a few laughs. After a couple more hours, people began to leave. First Anzu, then Ryou, then Jounouchi. Now it was just Yami and Yuugi left.

"So Yuugi," said Yami, "tell me more about yourself."

"Well there's not much to tell," said Yuugi.

"What about your parents? Your family?"

Yuugi shook his head.

"I never really knew my parents, I grew up with my grandpa. That's about it. And what about you?"

"Well..." Yami said pensively, "I grew up in Egypt with my parents until I was five, when we moved to this country. My parents were shot shortly after that by someone from across the street- they had been walking home- and well, I've been an orphan ever since. I've never forgotten that my last name was Mutou, though."

"Wow, that's a lot. But why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I wanted to."

"So, then...do you live in a...foster home or something?"

"No, I never wanted to stay in a place like that. A few years ago the Kaiba family invited me to come live with them, and that's where I've been living since."

"Kaiba? The Kaiba Corp. Kaiba family?"

"Yeah."

"Don't they get worried if you're gone for a while?"

"No, they don't care as long as I'm not leaving, like running away or something. They know that's my home."

"Wow, that sounds nice."

"I could give you a tour of the place if you like."

"Wow, really?"

"It's no problem."

"Thanks," Yuugi said, yawning.

"Oh, you're tired. Should I go? Actually, I probably should; it's getting dark outside."

"Yeah," Yuugi nodded, "and for the record, I do like you a little more now. Just a little."

"Does that mean what I think it does?"

"We'll see. See you at school tomorrow."

"See you then, I guess. Goodbye, Yuugi."

Yami left, shutting the door behind him, smiling. Yuugi just said that he liked him. Maybe not as much as he'd have liked, but it was definitely progress. His heart soared.


	5. The Thing About Family

Another week passed by. Yuugi got a new cell phone, and Yami came over for frequent visits. Rebecca was transferred to a private school overseas, so she and Yuugi could only communicate via email right now.

"With Rebecca gone, it sure will be quiet," Yuugi mused over lunch with his friends, minus Ryou, who had to leave for a doctor appointment.

"Well you still have all of us," said Anzu.

"That's right." said Yami, "Oh by the way if you guys are interested we can hang out at my place this weekend."

"Whoa, you mean that fancy-shmancy Kaiba mansion?" said Jounouchi, "No way I'd miss a chance like that!"

"Me too," said Anzu, "I'm in."

"Great," Yami grinned, "what about you, Yuugi?"

"Well I-" Yuugi started.

"Him at my place? Absolutely _not._ "

Everyone turned to see a pissed-off looking Seto Kaiba sitting at the next table over.

"Kaiba?" Yami said, surprised, "What are you doing here? I thought you were running the company."

"I am," said Kaiba, "but I'm required by law to attend at least five months of school a year in total. And besides, I don't trust you, and this is exactly what I mean. He is not coming in my home, never again!"

Kaiba stood up and walked away.

"What was that about, Yuugi?" Yami asked, "And I thought you told me that you've never been to the Kaiba mansion. I've never seen you there."

"I-I haven't! I don't know what Kaiba's talking about." said a confused Yuugi.

"Well Kaiba seems to think you caused some kind of trouble." said Anzu, "My guess is that either you've got an uncanny look-alike, which Yami here already is, so that can't be it..."

"Or something else completely is going on," said Jounouchi.

Yami pondered, "Remember when Yuugi said he couldn't remember anything before? I wonder if-"

"Um, y'know I think I'll go back to class now!" Yuugi panicked, not wishing to revisit the subject, "I'll meet you guys there! See ya!"

Yuugi hurried away from the table, out of sight.

"Real smooth Yami," said Jounouchi, rolling his eyes, "now you got the guy all freaked out."

"What?" said Yami, "But I didn't mean to-ugh! I am such an idiot!"

Yami picked up his bag and ran after Yuugi.

"He has a crush on Yuugi, right?" said Anzu.

"Totally," said Jounouchi.

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

Yami followed Yuugi not into the classroom but up the stairs, to the school library. He followed Yuugi inside. He was about to get Yuugi's attention when Yuugi turned around and whacked Yami in the face with his backpack.

"Augh! Yuugi, what is wrong with you?" It's me!" Yami screamed in pain.

Several people in the library made shushing sounds.

"Yami!" Yuugi gasped, "I had no idea it was you! I'm so sorry!"

"Who did you think it was? Is somebody following you, Yuugi?"

"N-no!" Yuugi said nervously, "That's ridiculous! I mean, other than you. Why were you following me?"

"I wanted to take back what I said before. You know, about your memory. That was out of place. Didn't mean to freak you out, I was actually trying to help you."

"Tell you what. Drop the subject, and we'll call it even."

"Alright, I can live with that."

"Good. Now why are you really here?"

Yami's face pinked a little.

"What do you mean? I just told you."

Yuugi tiptoed and lightly kissed Yami on the cheek. "Try again," he whispered.

Yami's eyed lit at the opportunity, but he didn't let himself fall into the temptation.

"As much as I'd like to give in to that, I can't. I...want you and Kaiba to figure things out first."

Yuugi's face fell. "Why does that matter? It's obvious he doesn't like me."

"Because he's my family, and it's not okay."

"Wait, what? That's impossible. Kaiba's in my family, too!"

"The hell I am."

The two of them spun around to see Seto Kaiba standing behind them.

"Okay, where exactly are you coming from today?" said Yami.

"I was researching." said Kaiba, "But never mind that. I overheard you two, and you've got some nerve saying we're related, Yuugi. You'd better start explaining, punk."

"Hey, whoa!" said Yami, "That was uncalled for, Kaiba."

"I don't give a damn what you think. I want answers, now. Where the hell did you get the idea that we're related?"

"I'm sorry," said Yuugi, "I just...it's what my grandpa always told me."

"Just like he told me that you were a trustworthy person." Kaiba scoffed, "Your grandfather's full of lies."

"How do you know?" said Yuugi.

"First of all, there's a family tree chart posted up in my home, where I can see every person related to the Kaiba family. Yami Mutou is on there, but there is no Yuugi anywhere. Whoever your so-called 'grandfather' is, though, is relative. He must take me for a fool if he thinks he can pass you off as part of the family. And second of all, the little visit you made at my mansion...well, that pretty much spells out the rest."

"But I never went to your mansion! Ever!"

"Save your breath. You know what you did, and I'll never forgive you for it."

"But I really don't know what you're talking about!"

"Kaiba," said Yami, "Yuugi went unconscious last week. He has amnesia of the events before the incident. It could be that this type of thing has happened before, and may have caused him to forget what you're referring to."

Kaiba fell silent for a few moments.

"That may well be," he said, "but even so, it doesn't change the fact that Yuugi's 'grandfather' is a liar. No way are we related, and the fact that he hasn't filled you in on what happened at the mansion makes me suspicious. He knows more than he lets on, and I think he's hiding something. Like I said, he's full of lies."

"Well if he's not telling me," said Yuugi," then just what happened when I visited?"

Kaiba released a heavy sigh. "I have video footage of everything. You can come tomorrow and I'll show you. But only once. And I don't want any questions about it, understood?"

"Yes," said Yuugi.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have research to continue."

Kaiba disappeared into the bookshelves, leaving Yuugi and Yami pretty much alone since they were a good ways back in the shelves themselves.

"So," said Yami, "what was it that we were talking about before?"

Yuugi smiled and whispered, "I said try again."

And this time it was Yami who was taken by surprise as their lips met. They closed their eyes, bringing more passion as they became more and more wrapped up in the sensation.

"Wake up, star heads," said Kaiba, walking past them, "bell's already rung. Either get to class or get a room."

"Too bad," said Yami, as they broke apart. "That was sensational."

"Sensational?" Yuugi giggled.

"Shut up, you know it's true!"

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

Later, Yami and Yuugi exchanged phone numbers so they could stay in contact. It was all Yuugi could think about, until he arrived home and saw his 'grandfather'. His smile faltered as he remembered what Seto said.

_He's full of lies._

Was that true? And what about the family tree? Supposedly they weren't even related. So just who was this man standing before him? And more importantly, who was Yuugi himself? Yuugi was totally lost. Now, more than ever, he wanted to know about his real family. And he was almost positive that Sugaroku had the answers. How easy it would be to get them was another matter.

Yuugi's train of thought was disrupted as his phone vibrated. It was a text from Rebecca. Yuugi was surprised he'd gotten a text, since she was overseas. But he was glad anyway.

 **Rebecca:** Yuugi, I finally found something.

 **Yuugi:** What are you talking about?

 **Rebecca:** Stuff about what happened to your family.

Yuugi glanced over his shoulder, paranoid that Sugaroku might see. He went upstairs into his bedroom and shut the door.

 **Yuugi:** Tell me. I have to know.

 **Rebecca:** You'd better be sitting down. This ain't pretty.

 **Yuugi:** I'm ready.

Yuugi took a deep breath and waited. It looked like he was finally going to learn something.


	6. Haze

Yuugi was in the lucid dreamscape again. It had begun to change. The trees and field plant-life had turned purple from the south area to halfway up the meadow area, where it contrasted to the normal color Yuugi had seen when he had first arrived. The blue of the sky was fading, it was beginning to glow pink and magenta, and in the south it was now bleeding red. The clouds had disappeared, and in their place was a cosmos-like pattern, scattered across the sky. The only place where there was any blue sky remaining was in the very north, over the mountains. Yuugi stared, bewildered, at the lavender grass beneath his feet.

_'What happened to this place?'_ he wondered, _'It was so different last time.'_

"Yami?" Yuugi called, "Yami, are you here?"

A familiar voice chuckled. "Of course I am. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up."

Yuugi yelped as he was drawn into a hug from behind.

"Yami!" Yuugi laughed, "Stop doing that!"

"Well then don't make it so easy." Yami smirked, letting go, "By the way, when did you decide how you actually felt about me?"

Yuugi stifled a laugh, "You really want to know?"

"I've been dying to know!"

"When I whacked you in the face with my bag in the library earlier."

"Wh- Seriously? How does that work?"

"You're kind of cute when you're surprised, Yami. Honestly, that really sealed it for me."

Yami laughed, "Oh my god, that's hysterical."

"So were you."

After a final chuckle, Yami said, "Hey Yuugi, check this out."

Yami closed his eyes, and two glowing wings materialized onto his back. Yuugi blinked.

"Is that for real?" said Yuugi, "How are you doing that?"

"It's a dream, Yuugi. You really had to ask?"

"Right, I knew that. But there's still something I- WHOA YAMI WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Yami had picked up Yuugi bridal style and begun to fly upwards.

"I just thought you might like the view." said Yami, "Don't you think it's nice, Yuugi?"

"No!" Yuugi squeaked, holding onto Yami for dear life, burrowing his head into Yami's chest. "I hate heights! Put me down!"

Yami's height melted at the adorable sight. "I'm sorry," he said, taking a mental picture for later.

Yami landed them both, and his wings disappeared.

"Shoot." he snapped, "So what was it you were saying before?"

Yuugi hyperventilated for a few seconds, and then calmed down enough to answer.

"I...oh, yeah. I wanted to know if you'd done anything to change this place."

"What?" Yami said, confused, "No, of course not."

"Then why did half the world suddenly go purple?"

"Say what? Purple? What are you talking about, Yuugi? It's exactly the same."

"You mean you can't see it? That's so-"

_Yuugi._

Yuugi froze.

"What was that?" he said, turning around anxiously. "Yami, did you hear that?"

Yami folded his arms, "If you're trying to scare me, it's not going..."

Yami's voice was drowned out by the sound of another, the same as before. It was a cracked, dystopian voice, but more like an echo really (think of Him from PPG, except a deeper tone).

_Sennen._

"What's Sennen?" Yuugi asked, in a daze.

Yami was still speaking to Yuugi, but Yuugi couldn't make out the words, couldn't hear his voice. Only this new, transfixing one.

_It's your last name. You should know that of all people._

"My last name...was Sennen?"

Yami began to wave a hand in front of Yuugi's face.

_Yes. Don't you want to know more?_

Yuugi nodded profusely.

_Then follow me. I'll show you everything._

Yami was now yelling something at Yuugi, but Yuugi didn't care. He was about to learn something- something he so desired.

"Where are you?" Yuugi asked monotonously.

_I don't specifically have a visible form as of yet. But still, I can show you the way._

Glowing pulses of light beamed off along the ground, coursing through the south area.

_Follow the pulses, to the mirror of memory._

Yuugi set off immediately, racing along the glowing path. Yami ran after him, but soon was lost behind. Yuugi was much faster than he looked. When he chose.

Yuugi followed the pulses until reached a strange cottage-style house. It was cream with a brown door, red roof and shingles. It had six small trees around it, three on each side. The sky color was a deep purple, almost a russian violet shade (purple color reference: . ), but strangely the trees and grass surrounding the house were green for about twenty feet in all directions. The whole situation was entirely eerie to Yuugi, but he wanted to know, he had to know. He clenched his fists and entered the house. There was one room: a bed, a closet, and some drawers, upon which sat an oval face mirror. The pulses ran straight into the mirror. Literally, into it.

_Look into the mirror._

Yuugi suddenly got a feeling of dread in the bottom of his stomach. What if he saw something terrible?

_Do you want to find out or not? Make up your mind._

Yuugi gasped, "You can hear my thoughts?"

_Of course I can. I am talking to you through thought presently, after all. Now make a choice- this is a one-time deal, Yuugi._

Yuugi took a deep breath. Whatever this was, it was right. He had to get a grip. After all, his memories would have the bad as well as the good.

Yuugi exhaled deeply, "Okay. I-I'll do it."

Yuugi stepped before the mirror and gazed into it, and the pulses stopped. For a few seconds he saw only his reflection, then it began to dissolve away. Something new was forming in its' place, something familiar. Finally, a face popped into view. It was a little boy who couldn't have been more than five or six. He had large chocolate eyes, straight dark hair, and was wearing a little tuxedo.

_That's you._

Yuugi's eyes widened. "Seriously?!"

A woman walked into view. She had blue eyes and straight dark hair.

"There's my handsome little man!" She kissed him on the head, "Ready for the party?"

"Yes, momma," said Little Yuugi- who had the sweetest voice imaginable, accompanied by the cutest smile. He took her hand, toddling by her side.

The picture dissolved.

"Momma..." Yuugi felt his heart reaching out, wanting her. She looked so kind. A smile peaked on his face as he thought of hers.

A new scene came into play. Little Yuugi was in a familiar living room- his living room. It just looked newer. He sat playing cars with another boy his age. This boy had large amethyst eyes like he did now, as well as his tri-colored hair. The only difference was that this boy had tanned skin.

_This is Heba, a boy you were friends with._

"But why does he look like me so much?" Yuugi demanded, "It's even more than how much Yami and I resemble each other!"

_He is Sugaroku Mutou's actual grandson._

"His grandson?" Yuugi was a little hurt.

_'I understand why he might not have told me about my own family, whatever that may be, but why didn't he ever tell me about his own grandson?'_

Yuugi turned his attention back to the mirror.

"It's so much fun getting to play with you, Yuugi!" Heba, who also had a similar voice to Yuugi's, said cheerfully.

"Yeah," said Yuugi, "Let's play forever!"

A knock sounded at the front door. A younger Sugaroku (he still had a little blonde in his bangs) went to answer it. Yuugi's mother and a man with blonde hair and brown eyes, who Yuugi guessed was his father, stood there when he opened it. Sugaroku's face split into a broad grin.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite godson Alvin and his wife, Sara!"

"Come on, Mutou!" Alvin laughed, "I'm your only godson! Anyway, where is he? We have somewhere to be soon."

"I'll get him." said Sugaroku, "Yuugi! Your parents are here!"

Yuugi jumped up with a cry of glee.

"Momma, Poppy!" He ran up to them and gave them a hug.

"Alright, Yuugi," said his mother, "say goodbye to Heba now."

"Okay, momma," said Yuugi. "Bye, bye." He waved a soft little hand at Heba.

"Bye, Yuugi!" Heba laughed.

The image faded. Within seconds, a new one appeared.

Little Yuugi was sitting, putting a jigsaw puzzle together on the carpeted floor of a living room. His father sat in a large armchair reading a newspaper, and his mother was reading a book on the couch. His father's face grew into a tension of worry, and his mother looked nervous. Finally they sighed and exchanged glances. Yuugi's father cleared his throat.

"Um, Yuugi...?"

Yuugi looked up brightly, "Yes, Poppy?"

"We, um...me and your mother have something to tell you."

Yuugi gasped, "Am I getting a new brother, or a sister?"

Yuugi's father blinked, "What?" while Yuugi's mother fell apart laughing.

"No, dear! That's not it." she said as best she could.

She regained her composure, "It's about your friend, Heba."

"Heba?" Yuugi echoed.

"Yes," Yuugi's father chimed in, "it looks like his family's moving away soon. They'd be kind of far away."

"But can't I still play with him?"

"I'm afraid not," said Yuugi's mother, "It just wouldn't work out."

"No!" Yuugi cried, "No, that's not fair! I...I don't want him to move! I want him to stay here!"

"I'm sorry buddy, but-" Yuugi's father started.

"No!" Yuugi ran to his room, tears streaming down his face.

The scene dissolved, faded. The next one showed Yuugi playing gloomily on some swings at the park. A slightly taller boy with white hair walked up to him. It was funny, he almost looked like-

_That's your cousin, Ryou._

Yuugi blinked, "WHAT! Ryou's my cousin? He's in my class!"

_Well at least you have family left._

Yuugi scowled. He was beginning to dislike this voice, whatever it was.

Young Ryou smiled at little Yuugi.

"How are you, Yuugi?"

"Sad," Yuugi replied.

"It's okay, Yuugi," Ryou said reassuringly.

"But my friend is moving away," Yuugi sniffed, "I don't want him to...I wish I could be with him forever."

"Oh, really?" said Ryou, "C'mon, then."

Ryou grabbed Yuugi's hand and began to lead him away.

"Wh-where are we going?" said Yuugi.

"You'll see."

Dissolve.

Now little Yuugi was sitting in a chair in a dark room lit by two dim white neon lights. The effect gave the room a blue-green glow. A man with white hair and sweet brown eyes stood next to the chair that little Yuugi was sitting in. Yuugi didn't need to be told that this was Ryou's father.

"Well now," said Mr. Ryou (Yuugi didn't really know what else to call him), "In this picture that you brought me, this boy next to you is Heba, right?"

Little Yuugi nodded, "Yes, ."

Shepherd. Well, the name definitely fit him and Ryou.

"Come on, Yuugi," said Mr. Shepherd, "I'm your uncle. Call me Akira."

"Okay, Uncle Akira," Yuugi continued, "but why do you need this picture?"

"So we know what to change your physical properties to."

Yuugi screwed up his face trying to comprehend the more complex vocabulary.

"Physical...what?"

Mr. Shepherd sighed. He held up a small vial full of clear, golden-brown liquid.

"This serum is one of the thousands that we have created. They can change you from how you look to how you want to be, but we can't do anything if we don't know what you're supposed to look like. If we do this we can change you to look exactly like Heba, and you two can pass as twins. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Yuugi nodded shaking a little.

"Are you scared, Yuugi?"

Yuugi nodded.

"Let me show you something. Gus, come over here!"

A boy who looked about ten walked their way. He had blonde hair and wicked-green eyes.

"What is it, Mr. Shepherd?" He asked.

"You've done this, correct?" said Mr. Shepherd, "Tell Yuugi here how it went."

"Okay!" Gus's eyes lit up, "I just did this two days ago. I was a little scared at first too, but it was nothing. They first used this stuff that made me fall asleep before they did anything, so I didn't feel a thing! And when it was over I felt great! It's a lot safer than plastic surgery, that's for sure."

"What's plastic surgery?" said Yuugi.

"A disgusting science," said Mr. Shepherd. "Of course, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. It's your choice, Yuugi."

Yuugi hesitated for a few seconds.

"I...want...to." The words finally came through.

"Good," said Mr. Shepherd, "now I want you to lay back and relax."

Yuugi hardly felt a thing as a syringe injected some strange yellow liquid into his body. Yuugi's vision grew hazy as his eyes began to droop.

Dissolve.

The next scene was in the same room, but Yuugi got the sense that some time had passed. Mr. Shepherd looked down at him.

"Ah, you're finally awake."

"What happened?" Yuugi said groggily.

"The procedure is done."

"You mean...?" Yuugi asked hopefully.

"Yep. Here, see for yourself." Mr. Shepherd took a hand-mirror out of a nearby drawer and handed it to Yuugi. As (little) Yuugi looked into it, his mouth dropped open. He looked exactly like Heba. The only difference between them was their skin tone, but Yuugi didn't mind that one bit.

"I hope you like it," said Mr. Shepherd, "because we can't reverse it."

Yuugi just smiled, "It's perfect! Thank you, thank you so much!"

Little Yuugi sprang off the chair and gave a huge hug.

Mr. Shepherd laughed, "You're quite welcome, Yuugi."

Dissolve.

"So that's...what happened to me..." Yuugi said, half in disbelief.

_But that's not all._

"Oh, joy."

A scene did not appear visually, but several sounds resonated from the mirror.

"Mr. Shepherd! Several of the subjects have begun to act bizarrely!" A strange deep male voice called out.

"What do you mean, bizarre?" said Mr. Shepherd.

"It seems that-ah-there was a component that we-tch-missed!"

"What component? Tell me!"

"The serum-augh! Changes personality! Darkly! It's-erch-happening to me! Get-ngh! Get out of here now!"

A soft thump was heard.

"C-Cliff!" Mr. Shepherd yelled, "Please, wake up!"

The sound faded to silence.

A new scene showed Mr. Shepherd and newly tri-colored Yuugi in the Sennen's living room. Mr. and Mrs. Sennen stood, looking at them with shocked faces.

"What have you done!" said Mr. Sennen.

Mrs. Sennen wrapped Yuugi tightly into a hug, "You said it was safe!"

"I thought it was!" said Mr. Shepherd.

"Can't you stop it?" said Mr. Sennen.

"I'm doing everything I can, Alvin! But finding a reversal serum isn't easy. It takes time. And even if I do manage to come up with something, the changes to his appearance are pretty much permanent."

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" said Mrs. Sennen.

Mr. Shepherd looked at them gravely.

"Pray."

Dissolve.

The next scene was short, but so powerful Yuugi almost screamed when he saw it.

_~Flashback~_

_Yuugi's train of thought was disrupted as his phone vibrated. It was a text from Rebecca. Yuugi was surprised he'd gotten a text, since she was overseas. But he was glad anyway._

_**Rebecca:** Yuugi, I finally found something._

_**Yuugi:** What are you talking about?_

_**Rebecca:** Stuff about what happened to your family._

_Yuugi glanced over his shoulder, paranoid that Sugaroku might see. He went upstairs into his bedroom and shut the door._

_**Yuugi:** Tell me. I have to know._

_**Rebecca:** You'd better be sitting down. This ain't pretty._

_**Yuugi:** I'm ready._

_Yuugi took a deep breath and waited. It looked like he was finally going to learn something._

_**Rebecca:** Okay. The record file I dug up is a forensic report of the incident. I swear you really need to sit down, Yuugi._

_Yuugi sat in a chair, rolling his eyes. How bad could this report be?_

_**Rebecca:** Well the file report says that both your parents' eyes were gouged out. They had been...gutted, and deep slices were found all along their arms and legs._

_Yuugi was wrong. It was BAD._

_**Yuugi:** Is that the whole report?_

_**Rebecca:** Yes._

_**Yuugi:** What about your family?_

_**Rebecca:** I found that out too. It's exactly the same._

_**Yuugi:** I think I'm gonna be sick._

_**Rebecca:** Are you okay, Yuugi?_

_**Yuugi:** Of course not. Are you?_

_**Rebecca:** No. I'm on the verge of fainting._

_**Yuugi:** Me too. Why is the truth so hard sometimes?_

_**Rebecca:** Nobody said it was easy._

_~end flashback~_

It was hard enough to hear about it from Rebecca. It was almost unbearable to see his dead parents right in front of his eyes. Little Yuugi stared at them, in shock.

"Momma! Poppy!" he cried.

Mr. Shepherd came into the house.

"I came over as soon as-"

His speech faltered, and his eyes fell upon Yuugi.

"What happened here?" he demanded.

"I don't know!" Yuugi said, sobbing, "Somebody killed them, Uncle Akira!"

Yuugi ran into his uncle's arms, and his uncle stared at the boy in shock and worry.

Dissolve.

Yuugi and Mr. Shepherd were now in Sugaroku's house.

"Please," Mr. Shepherd said, "I didn't know where else to bring him."

"What about with you and Ryou?" said Sugaroku, "You're family, after all."

"It wouldn't be safe anymore. My place...it's crawling with people injected with the serum, and they're just not themselves anymore. The personality changer seems to fascinate them now. They've managed to create a pure personality serum, and if I brought Yuugi back there with me, I have no doubt that they'd do experiments on him, or worse, just to see how far it can go."

"That's insane..." Sugaroku sighed.

"And that's just the minimal effect of the serum. I'm afraid some subjects have gone downright...sinister."

Suddenly, there was a pounding at the door.

"Hey, open up! We know you're in there!"

"Oh, no," said Akira, "they've found us!"

"Yuugi, Akira, get back," said Sugaroku. He took out a key and unlocked a small table drawer, taking out a pistol.

"Hey! Said open up! You want us to bust this door in?"

Sugaroku opened the door and pointed the pistol at three men standing there.

"I'll bust something of yours in if you don't leave this house!"

"Chill old man," said one with glasses, "we just want the kid."

Yuugi whimpered, "What are they gonna do to me?"

"Nothing," said Akira, "Everything will be fine."

"Now look here," said Sugaroku, "you will not touch this boy, and as long as he is under my protection you will not so much as cough in his direction, understand?"

"Yeah, but we said-"

"LISTEN, IDIOT!" Sugaroku yelled, and Yuugi flinched, "The police are half-a-block away. Anytime I want them, they'll be here faster than you can say 'Jiminy Cricket'. They'd be on top of you in seconds, and you three wouldn't stand a chance. So if you know what's good for you, you'd better stay far away from here! Am I clear?"

One in a hat spat on the ground, "Crystal."

As they began to walk away, the third one, wearing a sleeveless leather jacket, said in a snakelike voice, "You know you can't protect him forever."

Sugaroku slammed the door behind them.

"Good riddance," he muttered.

Akira's eyes lit up hopefully, "So you mean...you'll do it?"

"Yes," Sugaroku nodded, "I owe Alvin that much."

Dissolve.

_That's the last._

"The last?" Yuugi blinked.

_The last of your lost true past._

"What about Heba though? And Akira? Why didn't Ryou ever tell me anything?"

_I know as much as you do on that piece._

"Wow...I-I can't believe...how much happened..."

_Yes. But I'm afraid this is where our fun ends, Yuugi._

Yuugi got a sinking feeling in his gut.

"What do you mean?"

_That serum did more than just make a pretty face, Yuugi. It created something else._

"What?"

_ME._

"You didn't really think that you weren't affected by that serum, did you?" The cracked echo had turned into a distorted whisper.

Yuugi jumped. "What is this? Who-who are you? Show yourself!"

"Right here." A whisper sounded close to Yuugi's ear.

Yuugi jolted around and saw a dark gray haze with two evil black eyes growing out of it.

"Behold! You have of this moment met your darker personality. And now, Yuugi, yours will die."

"I-I don't understand..." said Yuugi, backing away slowly towards the door, "If you've been here this whole time, if you're really another part of my personality, then why...why haven't I ever known about you myself, or at least noticed something?"

"Easy enough," said the black-eyed haze, which seemed to be enjoying taking its' time, "for one thing, you were only six at the time of this ordeal. You wouldn't remember squat. And besides that," something like a Cheshire grin crept out of the haze, "I stole your memories."

"What?" said Yuugi, still backing away.

"Well they were perfectly easy to take, seeing how you had so little of them. It also makes a perfect cover for me, since you wouldn't remember anything and all. It's a rather fun game, although sad, really, for your loved ones. You should've seen the look on sweet old Sugaroku's face that morning you woke up practically mindless. Priceless."

"Don't talk about him like that! He's done nothing to you!" Yuugi had backed up to the doorway.

The haze laughed. "Did you forget what I said, Yuugi? It's a game to me. And it's about to be over for you. Heh- I took your memories just to see them returned to you as your last breath passed."

Yuugi found the doorknob.

"When hell freezes over, jerk."

Yuugi flung the door open and ran out. Yuugi caught a glance back at the haze- it's eyes were glowing red.

"YUUGI!" It shouted in rage. It came after him, and as it did the world around it turned gray, with every inch. Yuugi wished more than anything that Yami were here right now. He never should've run off! Stupid...

Suddenly he heard a muffled sound. Yuugi focused in on it and realized it was Yami calling for him.

"Yuugi!" He finally heard Yami's voice.

"Yami! I'm over here!" he called back, still running.

"Where?"

"Over here!"

Luckily thanks to Yuugi's speed, the haze was a staggering thirty feet behind him, but it was still too close for comfort. Yuugi saw Yami come out of the lavender forest about fifteen feet to his right.

"Yuugi!"

"Yami!"

The two star heads ran to each other in an embracing hug.

"Yuugi," Yami said, panting, "I-I'm sorry. I started to see...all the purple stuff you were talking about...after you left, and _what the hell is that?_ "

Yami was pointing at the _thing_ that was now only twelve feet away.

"No time to explain, just go!" Yuugi said frantically.

The two of them took off, back through the trees, toward the meadow.

"Don't run, Yuugi," said the haze, its' voice amplifying overhead, "don't you want to finish our game?"

"Shut up!" Yuugi yelled.

"Yuugi," said Yami, "what-what is that thing? What does it want with you?"

"I...don't want to find out," Yuugi gasped, "the meadow! Good, the northern area is still green. If we can get there, we should be able to get out of that _thing's_ grasp."

"Okay," Yami nodded, "Yuugi nodded, "Yuugi, look out!"

Yami's wings re-manifested and shot out to protect Yuugi from a black chain headed straight for him, which shattered once it hit the wings.

"Th-thanks, Yami, said Yuugi.

"You can thank me later," said Yami, "we're almost there."

As they drew nearer to the contrasting border, more chains swept near Yuugi's head and feet, all of which were either blocked off or dodged. Yami and Yuugi joined hands in a final sprint to the green zone, but as Yami passed through, their hands slipped apart. Yuugi had run into some sort of invisible barrier.

"Yuugi, no!" Yami tried to go back, but found he was stuck on his side. The gray void was coming closer to Yuugi with every passing second.

"Please don't leave me here!" Yuugi begged with pleading eyes.

"I can't! I can't get back through! Yuugi!" Yami yelled, pounding on the barrier.

Yuugi pounded on the barrier as well, "Yami! Yami!"

"That won't do you any good," a distorted voice chuckled. The haze was here.

Yuugi felt a deep chill enter his body as the black-eyed haze overtook him, and everything turned gray. Everything except him.

"Get off of him!" Yami screamed, "Leave him alone!"

"Heh," the haze sneered. Something like a snapping of fingers was heard, and Yami collapsed to the ground, faded away, and disappeared.

"What did you do to him?" Yuugi said, wide-eyed.

"Nothing disastrous," said the haze, "I just rejected him from his sleeping state. You, on the other hand, won't be so lucky."

Yuugi felt the color drain from his face.

The haze paused. "Or...perhaps you are. It seems that will have to wait."

Yuugi released a sigh of relief. "You...almost gave me a heart-"

"SHUT UP!"

Yuugi froze mid-sentence, too afraid to move. The haze continued.

"In my current state, I am too weak to do anything more. So for now, you may leave. I think I much prefer it this way, leaving you tormented with the truth, to live with. But see me as I am today, Yuugi. You will see my true form soon. In fact, much soon than you think..."

A snap of fingers and everything disappeared. But Yuugi did hear the faintest of cruel, soulless laughter echoing at the back of his mind, waiting for him to return...


	7. Tried Bonds

4:07 a.m.~ Yuugi awoke in a cold sweat, wide-eyed. Gasping, he jolted himself to a bolt-upright sitting position. He felt that he would've broken down at that very moment if it weren't for his grandpa- no, Sugaroku -standing beside the bed, watching him with a concerned look upon his face.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" said Yuugi, trying to pull himself together.

"You screamed in your sleep. Several times."

"Oh-" Yuugi began to reply when his cell phone rang, indicating a call from Yami. Perfect.

"Don't you want to get that?" said Sugaroku.

"No, it's okay," said Yuugi, wanting to save that conversation for when Sugaroku was out of earshot, "I'll see him at school."

But the man had other ideas. "It'd be rude."

"Wait, don't!" Yuugi watched in horror as Sugaroku picked up the phone and answered it. A lot of panicked yelling was heard coming from the other end. Yuugi couldn't hear all of what was said, of course, but he'd heard 'lucid dream' and 'haze' from among the mix. Sugaroku stopped Yami there and explained who he was, after which the call abruptly came to an end. Sugaroku turned to Yuugi.

"A lucid dream, eh? Something you want to tell me, Yuugi?"

Yuugi narrowed his eye, and his voice became dangerous. Scary dangerous.

"I could say the same thing."

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

When Yuugi got to school in the morning, the first thing that he wanted to do was sit in the classroom and stare blankly out into space, and maybe slam his head on the wall a few times. But as fate would have it he was instead called into the auditorium by the drama coordinator to play a piece for the upcoming play on the piano- supervised, of course. He'd been given that role when it was realized what a gift for music that he had. He was tone perfect, and the teachers absolutely adored it. Normally Yuugi loved it too, but right now the song reminded Yuugi of an angel having its wings ripped away, which was pretty much how he felt. For the second time that day he felt like losing it, but he sucked it up and held it in. The practice finished five minutes before second period ended, and Yuugi hurried to get himself to his classroom. As Yuugi began to go down the stage stairs, he was pushed from behind and slammed into the wall. Yuugi shouted out in pain as he was kicked, then picked up and punched in the face. Yuugi fell to the bottom of the stairs, his head spinning.

Yuugi coughed, "Stop..." Then he got a good look at the person. He recognized him, he realized.

"Ho-Honda?"

"Shut up!" Honda spat, glaring holes through the poor boy.

"Why are you...doing this?"

Honda picked up Yuugi, then pinned him against the wall by the neck, "For Katsuya."

"Jounouchi?" Yuugi coughed, wide-eyed.

"He was my best friend, until you came along. You took him from me. Ditched me for you, ya little twerp. What did you do him, huh? Tell me!"

"I-I didn't do anything...I swear..." Yuugi wheezed, "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't BS me! Oh, you're gonna pay for this- I will end you, Yuugi!"

"HEY! What's going on over there?" The drama teacher was running over to them. She had blue eyes, half-moon spectacles, and blonde hair tied up in a bun.

"Nothin', teach," Honda played innocent, his hands up, "Yuugi here just fell down the stairs, and I was helping him out."

Yuugi found himself being picked up and put into a standing position.

"Oh, well isn't that sweet?" the teacher exclaimed, throwing her hands together, "You ought to thank him, Yuugi."

"But he-" Yuugi started.

"Ah-ah-ah! Where have your manners gone?"

"Yeah Yuugi," Honda grinned smugly, "manners."

"Sorry, thank you," Yuugi whispered, knowing it was useless to argue, then got out of there just as second period ended.

Outside the auditorium Yuugi found Ryou and Jounouchi. He waved to them, catching their attention. When their eyes set on him both of their mouths dropped open and their eyes went wide.

"What?" said Yuugi, raising an eyebrow.

"Have you seen yourself in a mirror?" said Jounouchi.

Yuugi shook his head.

"You probably should." said Ryou.

They took Yuugi to the nearest bathroom and Yuugi looked into a sink mirror. His face was swelling from where Honda had punched him.

"Holy crap." he muttered, "Okay, can we all just say we don't tell the others about this first of all?"

"What happened?" Ryou and Jounouchi said in unision.

"Oh nothing except for the fact that _your psycho friend just tried to kill me!_ " Yuugi exclaimed, pointing at Jounouchi.

"Wha? Psycho friend?"

"Hiroto."

"Oh. Well to be frank, the guy and me ain't exactly friends anymore."

"I noticed. You can have him back."

"Aw c'mon, don't be that way! Besides, you knuckleheads can't get rid of me that easily!"

"Shoot," said Ryou, earning a look from Jounouchi.

"Perfect," said Yuugi, "I'm dead."

"Not on my watch!" said Jounouchi, "He'll be sorry he ever messed with you, just you wait!"

That did make Yuugi feel a little better, but between this, the dream, and his relation ignorance, he felt like he was going to be crushed.

"No," Yuugi shook his head, "Just leave things alone. You'll only make things worse."

"But Yuugi, this is serious," said Ryou, "we can't just do nothing."

"Look," said Yuugi, "it sounds to me like he just wants his friend back. Can't you do that, Jounouchi-kun?"

"Guess so." Jounouchi shrugged.

"Why'd you stop being friends with him, anyway?" Yuugi inquired.

"He...he was dissin' you, and I didn't like it."

Yuugi felt his face grow red in embarrassment.

"Well, uh, that's...nice and all, but...you really didn't have to ditch a friend on my acount. I think you two should make up."

"After everything he did to you?"

" _Especially_ after that. It shows that he really cares about your friendship, and I think it'd mean a lot if you two were friends again."

"So...you think I should?" said Jounouchi.

"Absolutely." Yuugi nodded.

"Thanks Yuug'. You know what? I'll go talk to him right now!"

Jounouchi took out a yo-yo from his pocket. Yuugi raised an eyebrow, but Ryou's eyes went wide as saucers.

"No! Duck and cover!" he shouted, pushing Yuugi to the ground just as Jounouchi got a wild spark in his eyes.

"Look out, world!" the blonde bellowed, "Here comes the super yo-yo man! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With this Jounouchi began to whip and whirl the yo-yo in the air wildly, and he took off running down the hall laughing like a madman. Yuugi and Ryou sweatdropped.

"Geez," said Yuugi, "He's going to take somebody out with that thing."

"He can't help it, I suppose," Ryou said cheerfully as he and Yuugi got up. "But anyway, class is going to start soon. Shouldn't we start walking back?"

"Maybe in a minute, I-I'm still thinking through a few things is all."

"Like what?"

Yuugi wanted to scream. _'Like the fact that we're related and why you never told me! Small world.'_

"Just...things that have been happening recently," Yuugi sighed, "it's fine."

"You sure you're alright, Yuugi? You seem a little...far away, somehow."

"Yeah, I'm alright," Yuugi smiled softly.

"Well what should we say to Yami?"

"Yami?"

"Bloke's been going on about you since he got to school, bloody worried like you wouldn't believe. Says he hasn't been able to reach you at all."

"Oh...nuts." Yuugi mentally smacked himself. Of course the guy was freaking out! After the night they'd had, why wouldn't he be? Yuugi had honestly wanted to talk to Yami, but he was required to keep his cell phone shut off during play rehearsal, so he couldn't. Yami had probably nearly lost his mind by now. Realizing this, Yuugi hastily turned on his phone. Yuugi felt his stomach do a flop as text messages and missed call alerts up the wazoo instantly blew up the screen. Ryou's eyes widened at the site in an I'd-hate-to-be-you-right-now fashion.

"Somebody fancies you, doesn't he?"

Yuugi's face pinked a little, "Guess so..." he laughed nervously. Feeling utterly awful, Yuugi sent a quick text: _Sorry. Was at rehearsal. Coming 2 class now. Cu there._

"C'mon," Ryou laughed, "let's go back to the classroom. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you."

Yuugi nodded and walked back with Ryou back to the classroom mutely. His mind burned with so many questions for the snowy-haired individual. He wanted to ask, no, he needed to ask about his family. Ryou, he could have more answers. But after the night before the thought of more answers nearly made him sick. No, he could wait for a while. And besides, cousin or not, Ryou was still his friend. A good friend at that, and one that Yuugi hoped not to lose. No, he would wait.

They'd arrived at the classroom.

"Yuugi!"

Before he could blink, Yuugi was tackled to the floor for the second time that day, in the tightest hug of his life.

"Yami..." Yuugi wheezed, "Can't breathe..."

"And whose fault is that? Serves you right for making me go crazy!"

"Okay, point taken, sorry!" Yuugi exclaimed, laughing, "But can we please get off of the floor? People are gonna stare."

"Let them stare! What's gonna happen?"

*Click, Flash*

"I freaking knew it!" A familiar female voice squealed.

The boys sat up to see Anzu holding up her phone at them.

"Oh." Yami said dumbly.

"A-Anzu!" Yuugi stuttered, his face reddening slightly, "Please tell me...you didn't just-"

"Oh I did."

"Erase it!"

"Why?" said Anzu and Yami in unision.

"I was caught off-guard! It's really embarrassing!"

"But it's so cute! You two are so adorable together!"

"Didn't I say so?" Yami smirked.

"Stop! You're not helping, Yami!" said Yuugi.

"Come on, it's only one picture! Please, Yuugi?" Anzu pleaded.

"No, Erase it!"

"Come on!"

"Erase it!"

"Please?"

"No!"

_"Please?"_

Yuugi sighed, "Fine..."

"Yay!"

"But..." Yuugi pouted, "only if you send me a copy."

"That's the spirit!" Yami cheered.

Ryou just stared at the whole scene, laughing his ass off.

"Well now, what's so funny here?"

Honda came up to them, and Ryou's laughter immediately ceased. Jounouchi wasn't with him presently, so Yuugi's guard immediately flew up.

"Nothing," said Ryou, "nothing at all."

"Oh really?" said Honda.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Anzu.

"Oh well, It's just that that bruise on your face is pretty funny, isn't it Yuugi?"

Yuugi shrank back, covering his cheek to hide the injury. The others instantly retaliated in Yuugi's defense.

"Back off, Honda!"

"You have no right to be making comments like that!"

"Mind your own business!"

"Oh, I'll mind this," said Honda, "tell us, Yuugi, how exactly did you get that? We're all dying to know."

Ryou's eye's suddenly gained a sudden sharpness. He growled, "Are you deaf? We said back off, bloke."

Honda chuckled, "What, you gonna make me?"

"I might just do that..." Ryou walked toward Honda and shoved him. Everyone's eyes widened.

"Oh, so you wanna do this? I didn't think you had the guts, Ryou."

Ryou let out what sounded like a small growl. "You don't know a thing about me."

"I know that I can kick your ass zero-handed."

"Is that a challenge?"

A chill ran down Yuugi's spine. What was happening with Ryou? one moment he was so gentle and lighthearted, and now...now he was a completely different person.

"Ryou, please don't do this," said Yuugi.

Ryou ignored Yuugi and tried to land a punch on Honda's chest. The blow was stopped by Anzu, and by Yami, who had leapt up to hold Ryou's arm back.

"What are you doing, Ryou?" said Anzu.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" said Yami.

"Get off!" Ryou protested, "I'm finishing this!"

"Think again, buddy!" Honda said, kicking Ryou square in his midsection. Ryou, Yami, and Anzu flew backwards to the floor.

Yuugi's eyes swelled with tears. His friend was getting beaten, because of him. To stand up for him. Ryou freed himself from Anzu and Yami and sprang back up, ready for action. He began to rush toward Honda again, and Yuugi couldn't stand it anymore. He ran in front of Ryou, blocking his path.

"Move, Yuugi."

"No!" Yuugi said resolutely, tears streaming down his face. "You have to stop this, just...please!"

"I have to-"

Ryou froze as Yuugi wrapped him in a hug.

"No, you don't."

After a moment, shock overcame Ryou as he felt tears travelling down his face as well.

"I'm sorry, Yuugi. I-I don't know what...overcame me..."

"It's okay, Ryou."

"Tch...make me gag..." said Honda.

"Get out of here!" Yami yelled.

"Yeah, hope you're proud." said Anzu.

"More than you know." Honda grinned cynically, walking into the classroom.

"Bastard." Anzu muttered.

Ryou began to cough wildy. The bell rang. Well great, they were late now. Oh well.

"Ryou, what's wrong?" said Yami.

"I...asthma...lungs kicked...can't...breathe..."

"We should get him to the infirmary," said Yuugi.

"Right," said Anzu.

Just then, Jounouchi _conveniently_ happened to fall down a flight of stairs nearby. Once he straightened himself up, he rushed over to the others.

"Ryou! Guys, What happened here?" he said in concern.

"You've got to be kidding me..." said Anzu, "you were there the whole time! And you didn't do a thing!"

"What? No, you've got it-"

"We're not stupid, Jounouchi!" said Yami, "Now tell us the truth!"

"Guys, stop!" said Yuugi, his voice shaking, "He had nothing to do with this, so stop! Th-there's been too much fighting for one day, okay! And even if he was there..." Yuugi paused, "...I'm sure he had a good reason. We...have to get Ryou...to the infirmary."

"Yuugi's right," Anzu sighed, "That's the most important thing right now. We'll sort this out later. Let's go, guys."

The others nodded, and accompanied Ryou to the infirmary.

Jounouchi fell into step next to Yuugi.

"So...what happened with Ryou here?" he whispered, "I really got no idea what happened."

Unsure whether or not to believe the blonde, Yuugi explained the scenario he'd just missed.

"Unbelievable," Jounouchi muttered, "he just said he wouldn't do anything."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow, "And you believed him?"

"Hey, I was just following your advice, remember?"

Yuugi sweat dropped. Technically, he was right.

"Can we just forget that now?" said Yuugi.

"Done deal buddy." said Jounouchi, "C-can I call you buddy? We're still friends, right?"

"I am if you are." Yuugi smiled.

"Alright!"

Yami slowed his pace to walk beside the two.

"By the way, Yuugi," said Yami, "what did happen to your face? It doesn't look good."

Yuugi felt himself go red (for the millionth time).

"Stairs." he muttered.

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

Later after school Yami and Yuugi went to the Domino railway station, waiting for a train to take them to the Kaiba Mansion, which lay on the Domino outskirts. In the meantime they sat on a bench, talking.

"Hey, Yuugi..." Yami started.

"Yeah?"

"I never got the chance to ask you, what with everything that happened earlier at school today, what exactly happened with you in the dream? We haven't had time to talk about that. You disappeared for a really long time. I was worried."

Yuugi shakily recounted his encounter with the haze and how it had painfully returned his memories to him, along with the threat to destroy him.

Yami growled, "I'd like to give that thing a piece of my mind."

Yuugi's eyes widened in horror. Yami realized how that sounded and after apologizing profusely to Yuugi asked,

"But after all of this, are you alright?"

Yuugi's eyes welled up with tears as he shook his head.

"I've never been so scared in my life."

Yami pulled Yuugi close to him as he began to sob. Yami stroked Yuugi's back reassuringly and whispered "it's okay, it's alright, you're alright" in a constant loop until Yuugi's phone let out a *ding!* Taking it from his pocket, he saw that Anzu had finally sent him the picture from earlier that she had promised, along with the text, 'All yours ;)'. At the sudden contrastment to the somber occasion, Yuugi and Yami stared at it for about three seconds before bursting into laughter.

_'Man it's good to have friends.'_ Yuugi thought with a chuckle.

After they'd calmed down, Yami's face reddened in embarrassment as he said,

"By the way, I hope I hope that I didn't get you in too much trouble before. In retrospect I really shouldn't have called so early in the morning."

"No worries. Actually, that gave me the perfect opportunity to confront my grandpa about everything."

"You still call him grandpa," Yami pointed out, "Why? I thought you two weren't even related or anything."

"True. But you know what? I decided that I didn't care about that, because family...doesn't always come in blood. It's who you love and care about, and who loves and cares about you."

"I never thought about it like that..." Yami momentarily closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. When he opened them again, he saw Yuugi smiling at him cutely.

"Whatcha thinkin about~?" the amethyst asked in a sing song kind of way.

"N-nothing!" the ruby blushed a lovely scarlet. "So...your grandpa...what happened then?"

"Oh, right, well of course he wanted to know all about the lucid dream after he heard you on the phone. So I told him about it, all the memories I'd gotten back. You should've seen him, he was just astonished. So then I asked him stuff like what happened to everyone, and he said...he said I might get to meet some of them."

"Really? That's great, Yuugi! But I was also wondering...well, I noticed during school that you didn't say anything to Ryou. That you're cousins, or anything. Why didn't you say anything to him?"

Yuugi sighed.

"I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him. I wanted to, believe me, but then I thought, he was Akira's own son, in the center of this whole serum mess. That means he may have been injected with the serum as well. If that's the case, he may not remember anything either. Not about his family, his past, nothing. For all I know, he only sees me as a friend, just as I saw him as one. I don't want to ruin that friendship."

_'There was that one moment,'_ Yuugi thought secretly, _'where Ryou seemed to have a completely different personality. If that's what I think it is, we'd definitely be in over our heads by confronting it right away.'_

"Yes," Yami nodded, "but eventually you'll have to say something about it."

"I know."

The clock tower in the distance struck 4:00 p.m.

"Are you sure that you want to see this video at the Kaiba Mansion. I can convince Kaiba to wait if you want. You seem to have a lot weighing down on you as it is."

As appealing as that sounded, the last thing that Yuugi needed was to give Kaiba further reason to dislike him.

"No, you don't have to do that. I-I'll be fine."

"Okay," Yami said, unconvinced, "if you're sure..."

Yuugi's phone suddenly rang. It was his 'grandpa' calling.

Yuugi picked up, "Yes?"

"Yuugi, you have to come home right now. Alone."

"Alone?" Yuugi arched an eyebrow.

"It's family matters. Please, hurry."

"I...okay, I'll be there. Bye." Yuugi sighed, hanging up."

"What is it?" said Yami.

"Grandpa says he needs me back at the shop. Guess that means I can't see the video now, huh?" Although Yuugi was quite relieved.

"Don't worry about it," Yami smiled, winking, "with all that's been going on I'm sure that I can convince Kaiba to wait on this."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Th-thanks a lot." Yuugi smiled gratefully, "I guess that I should go now."

"Aw, without me?"

"Stop pouting, Yami! He says it's a family- the blood kind -matter. And besides, the shop is just down the block form here, so it's not unsafe for me to walk there alone."

"Hmm...stare at you walking into the sunset, or walk into the sunset with you?"

Yami's eyes lit up wonderfully as he picked up Yuugi bridal style, causing Yuugi's face to go red (I've reached my blushing limit, haven't I? X.X).

"Ah! Yami, not out here!" he protested.

"Too late," the ruby-eyed boy smirked, "sunset _away!_ "

Yami raced off toward the game shop, and before Yuugi knew it there he was, being set down gently on his feet.

"Say it." said Yami.

Yuugi cocked his head to the side in question.

Yami smirked, "That I literally swept you off your feet."

Yuugi giggled, "You always seem to do that in one way or another."

The two leaned in to kiss. Before Yami left, he added, "Remember, we changed this weekend's hangout to the mall, so come to the mall tomorrow, since tomorrow's saturday, okay?"

"I'll be there." said Yuugi with a smile.

"Great," Yami waved as he began to walk off, "see you there."

"Bye," Yuugi waved back, then entered the shop. He went into the house through the back. Right away he saw Sugaroku, standing behind five or six suitcases.

"Grandpa, what's going on?"


	8. Hyper Happy Heba

"Wh-what is this?"said Yuugi, motioning toward the suitcases.

"It's...I, um..." Sugaroku seemed to be having trouble finding the words to say. He looked very nervous and tense.

"Just tell me, okay?" Yuugi said calmly, "What's happening?"

Finally, Sugaroku seemed to re-group his strength. Taking a deep breath,

"You have to leave."

Those words hit Yuugi like a knife. "What?"

A silence permeated the room.

"I see," Yuugi whispered, lowering his head so Sugaroku wouldn't see his pained expression. "You only took me in because you felt obligated to my father. You never wanted me then, or ever."

"Yuugi, no! It's not like that, I swear!"

"Then what?" Yuugi said quietly, head still lowered. "Tell me how it is."

"It's because you won't be safe here much longer."

Yuugi gritted his teeth, "Likely story..."

"No Yuugi, it isn't. Sugaroku speaks the truth."

A chill went down Yuugi's spine when he heard that voice. It wasn't. No, it couldn't be.

Footsteps approached from the next room over. Yuugi's eyes widened as he saw a tall man with chocolate eyes and long snowy hair approaching, His heart nearly stopped.

"A-Akira..." he half-managed.

Then he fainted.

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

Yuugi woke up on the living room couch, completely dazed.

"I told you it was a bad idea for this to happen so fast." he heard Sugaroku's voice coming from the living room.

"I'm on your side, believe me I am," said Akira, "but the way things are going, I'm afraid there's no time."

"And what would you have done if he still remembered nothing, Akira? Say 'Well hey, I'm your uncle, and now you have to come live with me?' Fantastic!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm much more debonair than that."

Yuugi could hardly believe what he was hearing. He was supposed to live with his uncle now? This whole ordeal had his head spinning. Numbly, Yuugi got up off the couch and willed himself to walk toward the dining room.

"Is...is all that true?" the words rolled from his mouth.

"Y-Yuugi!" Sugaroku stammered, jumping about a foot in the air. "You're awake again-er, how much did you hear?"

"I don't know," Yuugi murmured, "I just heard that I'm supposed to be living with my uncle now. And A-Akira...no offense, but you're not as debonair as you make yourself out to be."

Akira chuckled, "None taken. I hope I didn't give you too much of a scare before, Yuugi. I know this is all very sudden for you."

"Yeah," said Yuugi, "was just shocked to see you in person, after all these years. I-I'm really glad to see you, though."

"I'm glad to hear that." Akira said cheerfully.

"But grandpa," Yuugi went on, "this...this has to be a joke, right? I mean, the police are practically next door. It doesn't get much safer than that, right?"

"You're right about that much, Yuugi," said Sugaroku, "but it won't last for much longer. Your uncle's told me that it's been targeted."

"Targeted?"

"Right," said Akira, "I always keep a close eye on people from my old lab. I have to. For years they've been plotting ways to get around the police here, but they never came up with any genuinely serviceable plans, so I was never worried. Then, fed up, they finally decided to destroy the place altogether."

"Destroy it? But that place has security like crazy, alarm systems, triggers and everything! There's no way that would work!" Yuugi was saying this to sound logical, but in reality he was afraid of what would happen if those people actually succeeded.

"Ah, but it works for them. They've been spending the past thre-and-a-half years planning how to do this, and they just finalized it yesterday. It's going to happen in two days, and I'm sad to say that it may actually work."

"And the police don't have the money to replace a place like that," said Sugaroku, "So if that place is destroyed, that's it. The police will be gone from this area. And after they get rid of that place, they'd likely come here, looking for you. It'd be safer for you to be with your uncle now."

"But sh-shouldn't we warn them about it?" said Yuugi, "They could defend themselves, they could do something!"

"It's a likeable thought," said Akira, "but the truth is that the reality is simply too unbelieveable. I've been warning others of these altered people since day one, but I was turned into a laughing stock. Indeed, the idea that people can be turned psychotic by a simple injection is a ridiculous one. Madness, more like. So it's useless."

"So you mean there's nothing we can do?"

"I'm afraid...that's the case."

Yuugi looked up at Sugaroku with sad amethyst eyes.

"I don't want to go..."

"I know," said Sugaroku, "but you'll be safe."

Yuugi bit his lip, "Do I have to go right now?"

"I'm afraid so." said Sugaroku. "All...all of your things...I've already packed them for you."

"I'll take them out back," said Akira, "and give you two a chance to talk."

Akira took hold of two suitcases and began to roll them away.

Suddenly Yuugi's breath couldn't catch up with him as the reality of the situation hit him like a boulder. He began to hyperventilate heavily, his shoulders shaking violently. The world spun around him.

"Yuugi, Yuugi!" Sugaroku exclaimed, putting his hand on Yuugi's shoulder. The man's voice brought Yuugi back to present. "Please calm down, okay?" That ever-familiar smile gave Yuugi a sense of reassurance.

"Okay..." Yuugi said with a slight shudder.

"Come here," Sugaroku motioned for Yuugi to follow him, "I want to show you something before you leave."

Sugaroku led Yuugi into the living room and went over to one of the bookshelves. He reached up and pulled a box down from on top of one. He went and sat down on the couch- the one that Yuugi had woke upon a mere few minutes before -and beckoned Yuugi closer. He opened the box and pulled out a small statue.

"Recognize this?" He said with a twinkle in his eye.

"It's your Dark Magician statue!" Yuugi smiled knowingly.

"Right you are. Here, I want you to give it to Heba when you see him."

"Heba? But I thought that he moved away."

"He did. But he came back a few years ago for homeschooling with Akira."

"Akira? Howcome? Why not his parents?"

"His parents are too busy. They founded a very large and successful electronic company that keeps them away from home constantly. I guess success runs in our family's blood, heh. Anyway, Akira volunteered to homeschool him. And besides, oh...sorry, thinking out loud."

"What? And besides, what?"

Sugaroku grinned, "That's for me to know and for you to find out. But never mind that, please remember to give it to him. Tell him I said hi."

"I will grandpa, don't worry." Yuugi took the statue and carefully tucked it inside his backpack.

"And now Yuugi, I have something to give to you."

Yuugi perked up in surprise, "Really?"

"Yes," Sugaroku nodded, "here."

Yuugi gasped when he saw the next object that Sugaroku had pulled out.

"That's...no, grandpa! You can't!"

Sugaroku just chuckled as he placed the object over Yuugi's head, letting it hang from Yuugi's neck. The Millenium Puzzle. It was an upside-down square golden pyramid with an egyptian eye crafted onto it, hanging from a silver chain.

"I can and I've already decided."

"No!" Yuugi protested, "It's a family heirloom! If anyone it should belong with Heba, not me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Yuugi. He isn't very fond of it. He wouldn't want it. You are a different story, however. I've seen the way your eyes shine with admiration at the very mention of this item. It is something important to you. That's why I decided to give it to you. I won't be around forever you know, so I want you to hold on to it. Related or not, you have always been family to me. Oof!"

Yuugi had given Sugaroku a large hug around the middle.

"Thank you, grandpa!" Yuugi said, his eyes shining, "I'll cherish it for the rest of my life!"

Sugaroku let out a jovial laugh. "You're quite welcome, Yuugi."

"Come on, now!" Akira called from the kitchen, "Everything's ready to go!"

"Go on," Sugaroku urged Yuugi, "You can come visit me after school, you know."

Yuugi smiled, "I will! Definitely!"

"I'm glad. Now your ride awaits."

"Okay." Yuugi hesitated for a second, then gave Sugaroku another hug. "Thank you. For everything."

Sugaroku blinked tears- wait, was he crying? -from his eyes.

"Of course."

"I hate to break this up, but we really should go," said Akira, "those people aren't dumb. They'll figure out where I am and what's going on here if we don't leave soon."

"He's right." said Sugaroku.

"Can I call you later, grandpa?" said Yuugi.

"Anytime, my boy."

Yuugi nodded in appreciation and walked into the kitchen. From there Akira led him out the side door, where a white RV was waiting. He followed Akira inside and sat down. After a moment or two, Akira started up the large vehicle, and they drove off. Yuugi stared out the window, watching the Kame Game Shop as the distance between grew larger with each passing second. And then...it was gone.

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

Ten minutes had gone by. If it weren't for the traffic, it would've been quite a long way to drive (think about it, 1 mile per minute by car). Yuugi hadn't said a word. He tried to, a few times, but froze up. He hardly knew this person, what would he say in the first place? His mouth ran dry as he tried to manage a simple exchange of pleasantries. But why was it so hard now? He'd done just fine with talking to him back at the game shop, so why couldn't he get so much as a 'how-do-you-do?' out? Then he realized something.

_'At the shop, Grandpa was there. I felt more at ease. Now it's just the two of us, and I'm anxious. I hardly know what to say, or how to act. Boy, I'm just a nervous-'_

"Yuugi?"

Yuugi's head shot up, "Y-yes?"

Akira's eyes reflected from the rear-view mirror, watching him.

"First of all, calm down. You look like a deer in headlights."

Calm down. How many times had he been told that? Yuugi took a few breaths. "Right, sorry."

"No Yuugi, don't apologize. You've got every right to be nervous. Scared, even. I would be if some person who was nothing more than a complete stranger mere days ago came to take me away somewhere else, along with all this serum mess."

Yuugi chuckled nervously, "That about sums it up."

"Good," Akira smiled, "You're talking. Well is there anything that you'd like to know about the serum science?"

Yuugi glared coldly. How dare he! Wasn't it obvious that that would be the last thing he wanted right now?

With a commanding iciness that put Seto Kaiba to shame,

"No thank you. I've learned quite enough of that on my own. Please change the subject."

Yuugi gasped quietly. He'd even shocked himself with how he spoke.

_'Where did that come from? I've never talked that way to anyone before in my life! What's going on?'_

Akira just shook his head, sighing. "I'm sorry. Of course I shouldn't have brought it up. What would you like to talk about?"

"Umm..." Yuugi thought quickly, "is it true that Heba is really there? Where we're going?"

"Oh, yes! He's especially excited to see you, Yuugi. He's really missed you."

"Aw, stop! You make it sound like I'm some kind of celebrity!"

"The way he talks about you, you might as well be."

"What?" Yuugi felt himself go hot.

"Well, him and a certain someone."

Yuugi suddenly felt flustered. "R-Ryou?"

"No, Ryou doesn't live with us. He dorms with a friend in an apartment, in the city."

"Dorms?" Yuugi didn't even know students could do that at Domino High. Well, now his school had everything. "But if it's not him, then who-?"

"That's a surprise." Akira winked.

Yuugi pouted. This was the same topic that Sugaroku had skirted around. What were they acting so smug about? Yuugi just wanted to know already!

Traffic eventually eased out and a few minutes later they finally reached where Akira said said was their destination: A large three-story house at the end of a street, surrounded by trees and similar plant life. The effect was very welcoming and warm. In the now-evening light, the illuminescence coming from within the windows gave it an almost magical glow.

Akira pulled into a driveway beside the house, then smiled heartily.

"Here we are. Don't worry about the suitcases, I'll get them. You just go inside. The door should be open. If not, knock, or let me know."

Yuugi shook his head, "No, I can't let you bring all those suitcases in alone! Let me help."

"No Yuugi, I'll do it. It's fine."

"But...I want to help."

"Well, if you insist. As a comprimise, take one and let me do the rest."

Yuugi pouted, "That hardly seems like a comprimise."

"You want to help?"

Yuugi sighed, "Yes."

"Well come on, then."

Yuugi pumped his fist in the air and made a grab for the largest one. When Akira reached out to stop him, Yuugi wrapped his arms around it in a vise-like grip and hissed like a cat.

"Mine!"

"Fine, fine, you've made your point." Akira laughed. "Then these are mine. Right! Let's bring them in!"

Yuugi walked to the house, suitcase in hand, and opened the door. He gasped. What a grand entryway this was! He had entered a very large, tall room. A simple crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a soft, golden light. Red-cushioned furniture lined the walls against the tall glass windows, which were adorned by velvet-red curtains, pulled back presently to glance out-of-doors. The floor seemed a large a large checkerboard, decked with black-and-white tile work. At the two front corners of this room, where the side walls met the front, were two plants of Aloe. The decor was simple, yet elegant. Yuugi felt as though he'd just walked into a scene from The Beauty and the Beast. Akira saw Yuugi gawking and laughed in amusement.

"Before you ask, I am not very lucky in matters of wealth. I simply have a good eye, along with good taste. Although I do get paid fairly as a scientist."

Yuugi simply nodded, awestruck. He continued his observation, while Akira went to get more suitcases, leaving behind the two he'd already brought. Two hallways stretched away from this room to other areas of the house. Yuugi thought he saw doors lining these. Also leading away from this room was a flight of stairs which went to the second floor. At the top of these stairs was a balcony from which one could look down from, which also appeared to have an Aloe plant upon it. And staring down at him presently from said balcony were two pairs of eyes: one blue, and the other a prominent violet. Not quite the hue of Yuugi's eyes, but pretty damn close. Yuugi didn't know who the blue eyes belonged to, but he was almost certain that the violet eyes belonged to Heba Mutou. Yuugi didn't think it strange that they would watch him from afar. After all, he'd only just arrived; it must be pretty strange to see him for the first time like this.

But what Yuugi did not expect was the high-pitched scream of excitement that came from the violet-eyed boy.

"OH MY GOD IT'S YUUGI-KUN! HE'S HERE! YUUUUUUUUUUUUUGIIIIIIIIIIII **KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!** "

Yuugi screamed in panic, and his heart practically tore out of his chest.

"Ow!" Heba exclaimed, as if he'd just been whacked hard, "What?"

"I told you not to do that!" said the blue-eyed person. It was a feminine voice, one that seemed familiar for some reason. "Look at him, you scared the life out of him!"

"But he's so-"

"You moron! You're supposed to introduce yourself _in person like, say, A NORMAL PERSON!"_

"Yes, mother."

"Shut up."

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!"

The blue-eyed person had grabbed Heba by the ear and began to pull him down the stairs. As they got closer, and Yuugi was debating with himself whether or not to duck behind the suitcases for cover, he noticed that the blue-eyed person had freckles, glasses, and...blonde hair. His jaw dropped.

"No way...Rebecca?!"

Now it was the blonde-haired-girl's turn to squeal.

"Yuugi-kun! Oh, you did remember me!"

Yuugi sweatdropped. This was way too much.

"O-of course I- wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were out of the country!"

"I lied. Introductions!" she said, quickly changing the subject.

"Wait, slow down!" said Yuugi, "I'm really confused here. Could you explain what in the world happened with you?"

"Mmm...no."

"She's lying." Heba hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell him. Later! But right now, Yuugi, this is Heba. Heba, this is Yuugi."

"Sure," said Yuugi, "nice to meet you."

Heba just laughed miscieviously, "Snugatakle!"

"Wha-?"

Without any warning whatsoever, Heba wrapped his arms around Yuugi and began...snuggling him? Yuugi's face flushed pink.

"Wh-what are you...?"

"Ah, I see you three have been getting acquainted."

Akira had returned with more suitcases and was watching the scene with great amusement.

"H-how exactly...is this 'getting acquiainted'?" said Yuugi, trying to free himself from Heba, without much success.

"It's kind of how he says hello," Rebecca smiled, "in his own fun little way."

"O...kay? So when...does he let go?"

"Good luck trying. He founded a Yuugi fan club a few weeks ago, and he's been dying to meet you for much longer than that. He's your number one fan."

"F...an...club...?" the pink in Yuugi's cheeks turned to a light rose.

"I helped, let's be honest." Rebecca winked.

"Having fun there, Heba?" said Akira.

Heba hugged Yuugi tighter, "Oh my god! He's so cute and fluffy! Can I keep him, please?"

"Only if you say cheese!" said Rebecca.

The two boys spun around just as Rebecca's camera flashed.

"Hehehehe...perfect."

Yuugi face-palmed, "Not again..."

Heba finally let go of him and exchanged a look of glee with Rebecca.

"SCRAPBOOK TIME!"

They ran up the stairs in excitement, at breakneck pace.

Yuugi stared after them, aghast. "You've got to be kidding me..."

"That's just the way things are," said Akira, "those two are crazy about you."

Yuugi sighed. _'Oh, if Yami saw me now. Uh, scratch that. If **Anzu** saw me now! Oh boy...'_

"Come on, I'll show you which room is yours."

Akira led Yuugi upstairs, pulling a suitcase behind him. Luckily for Yuugi Rebecca and Heba didn't come out of nowhere. He needed an hour without some form of craziness in his life.

The bedroom wasn't anything too extraordinary, just a bed, some drawers, a desk and chair, and a window. Akira brought up more of Yuugi's things and left him to unpack.

*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.*~.

After dinner, Rebecca, Yuugi, and Heba sat in the front room, and Rebecca finally got to explaining her presence.

"I never got my memory back like you did," she said plainly, making Yuugi feel a bit guilty, "I was living life normally, with my grandpa. Or Mister Hawkins. I don't know anymore. Anyway, it...was perfect. But then those people came. They ruined everything." She said this all with a smile, but a sad one, and her voice was missing the usual pep that she spoke with. "It...was the weekend after I came to visit you, Yuugi. All your classmates were there, remember? Yeah. It was Saturday. Me and grandpa Hawkins were sitting in the living room, when they called us. they said they were coming for us. Grandpa thought it was a joke." Her eyes were beginning to glaze over. "On Sunday, they came. They k-killed, grandpa. They shot him through the neck. Then they tried to take me away, but your uncle came. He saved me, and brought me here, and he explained everything."

"Wow..." said Yuugi, "so that was when you said you'd gone overseas."

"Yeah," Rebecca said, her voice breaking, "but grandpa...they, I never got to go back...to see him..."

Rebecca broke down, tears trailing down her face.

Yuugi reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. He didn't know what to say. But, he felt her pain all the same. If anything like that ever happened to Sugaroku- Yuugi paled. A horrible thought crossed his mind: What if that's what they were setting out to do at the shop? Then as fast as those negative thoughts had arrived, they were pummeled away as he he saw something light, round, airy, and wonderful floating in front of his face. Actually several of these somethings. They were bubbles.

"Bubbles?" he and Rebecca stared, looking around for the source. They saw Heba blowing bubbles from two seats over.

"Yep!" said Heba, because bubbles make people happy, and you guys need to cheer up! BUBBLES!"

This caused a massive fit of giggles to ensue. In no time Rebecca's eyes were once again dry-eyed and cheery.

"In all honesty now," said Yuugi, "did you find out about our parents' deaths this way?"

Rebecca nodded, "That's right. Akira had kept reports on incidents related to his 'expiriments'. It's actually really cool stuff! If you like, we could go see them together later."

Yuugi laughed nervously, yawning. "No thanks, I'm good."

"Poo." Rebecca pouted.

Then something occured to Yuugi. "Wait, Rebecca, were you-"

"Alright everyone," said Akira, entering the room, "tomorrow's another day. Don't want to see and tired faces so let's get to bed on time. I'm talking to you, Heba."

Heba chackled and ran out of the room.

"Wh-Heba!" Akira chased after him.

Yuugi and Rebecca doubled over in laughter, then wished each other good night and went to their respective rooms. Yuugi changed into a pair of pajamas and was just about to slip into bed when his phone buzzed. It was a text from Yami.

**Yami:** Sorry this is late. I would've called or texted before but I was getting chewed out by Kaiba. Don't mind that that though. Are you okay? What did your grandpa want?

Yuugi thought carefully. Did he really want to tell him what had just happened, where he was? He thought of doing so, but something held him back from doing so.

**Yuugi:** I'm fine, don't worry. It's no big deal, he was just sorting through some game items and needed my help.

**Yami:** Okay good, nothing serious then. Just checking. So I'll see you at the mall tomorrow, right?

**Yuugi:** Yeah, definitely.

**Yami:** Okay. Goodnight, Yuugi.

**Yuugi:** Goodnight, Yami.

Yuugi set down the phone and lay down, pensive. He knew he'd have to tell Yami, one way or another. Tomorrow, he'd definitely tell Yami, after he'd had the time to relax his nerves and to figure out what to say.

Yuugi's forehead creased in worry as his thoughts turned to Sugaroku, which reminded him of the statue he was supposed to give Heba. Baka! He'd forgotten! Well now he was too tired to give it to him, and he didn't feel like chasing him down through the house-or getting snugatakled, for that matter. He'd have to do that sometime later as well. In the meantime, Yuugi reminisced over what Rebecca had said about her grandfather. He would never wish something like that upon Sugaroku. He never wished any of this. He only wanted happiness and peace to encase him, and everyone that he cared about. With that, he drifted off into a restless, but thankfully dreamless sleep...


End file.
